24th January 2017
Time: 1806z
Position: 17°18.3N 47°29.1W
COG: 250°T
SOG: 6kts
Wind: ENE 3-4
Swell: N 3-4ft
Sky: 6/8 cumulus
Weather: Some squalls around. Heavy showers seen close by, but not experienced (disappointingly).
Ty is asking Lea for hair-bands.
I had to open with that one. Until yesterday I was unaware of the booming trade Lea was doing in supplying Ty’s wholesale requirement for hair-bands. I nearly fell out of the nav station laughing I was so surprised by the conversation going on just beside me. Reflecting upon it during the day the surprise has worn off, as Ty is the person with the longest hair on the boat, but I’ve continued to find it very funny. Maybe he could write a book – ‘The Longest Hair on The Longest Swim”.
Speaking of writing, our onboard poet; John Scott Esquire, prepared a little musing the other day, and I’d forgotten to include it in the last few entries. I enclose it below for your pleasure and entertainment:
“It is not in our nature to gloat
That Discoverer’s a wonderful boat
Under bright stars at night
The fish fly off in fright
At t’approach of the best thing afloat.”
Our resident windsurfer, Connor, brought with him all the windsurfing kit, with the intention of getting some good footage of the boat while at sea should conditions permit. The windsurf board itself was involved in the rather dubious circumstances that ended with Henry being stranded ashore in Las Palmas at 1am, with 6 tubes of Pringles, 12 beers, and all the tobacco. When Connor went to ready the board, as primary means of transport to and from the anchored boat, to retrieve Henry from ashore it was discovered that there was a large surfboard shaped hole in the water where it used to be, and the painter trailing in the Force 7. A failure of seamanship to adequately secure the transport to the main boat was apparent, but I won’t mention by whom (however let’s just say the only person going near the board was one with prior experience and qualifications…!). The board was later discovered to have been adopted by a ‘gentleman of no fixed abode’ on an adjacent beach. Having told him we’d collect it the following day, we have visions of him guarding it fiercely, promising everyone that we will be back one day. Either that or he is teaching himself windsurfing and will one day become a world champion. Connor will keep tabs on the situation and update as appropriate.
As the heat continues unchecked, we have finally established some form of respite on deck in the form of the otherwise redundant windsurf mast and sail, which has now been rigged with a splash of ingenuity to provide full shade and shelter for the helm, and also facilitates an area of deck you can stand on barefoot without burning the soles of your feet off. It’s really quite nice.
The ‘freeze chocolate and stuff’ concept has really taken off, and it is unusual to now consume anything that hasn’t first done a spell in the freezer. These frozen treats are now in danger of overtaking the main menu as a primary source of sustenance, which really wouldn’t be very good for us at all.
Various other mischief is afoot, mainly involving sleeping people and ice-cubes. While all this goes on, at least one person is always seriously focussed on sailing the boat efficiently towards our final destination, and speeds are not as atrocious as they could be, for now. Until then.
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