Day 17 - Are we nearly there yet?

Well yes, with only 340 miles to go, which is exactly 2 days
at our current speed, but no, we still have 340 miles to go. Apart
from the fact that the wind might die, with every mile and hour at sea, the
risk of bits of the boat giving up the ghost increases. Yesterday it was
the Duogen, our very efficient and eco-friendly water/wind generator. The
thingy which connects the rotor to the generator fell off, so it is now hors de
combat. That means that we have to use our engine more (in neutral!!) for
power generation. The thing which takes most power is the
autopilot, which steers considerably more accurately and in a more nuanced way
than we can do manually, so it has been in operation 60/60/24/7 for the last 17
days, and is getting tired. It evidences this by groaning noises, and by
a clever trick of occasionally taking the boat off on a random course. It
only does this at night, in order to keep night-watch-keepers on their toes. Today it has been the red knob which is meant to stick out (of
the engine control). It failed to perform. However, Andrew has
twiddled with the red knob and now it sticks out proudly again. Fishing triumphs? Er, no….nothing yet.
Brad has valiantly trailed the line out every day without success; last night
the instant he put the line and hook away, a myopic flying fish whacked him
from behind. Clare has been practising for the beach, having now decided
that we are likely to make it in time to get there, but she can’t manage
the full 180 degree stretch. |