Dory Died!
23 May 2012 | Somewhere in the South Pacific
Lisa Anderson
5/22/2012 – 19 days at sea
09 54.58’S; 138 14.34’W
PS: Are We There Yet?
Dory (the auto pilot) died. Well actually Larry just thinks she’s in a coma, but we can’t seem to revive her at this time. So yes folks, you are thinking correctly, we have been hand steering now for two days and two nights. The good news is that our biceps are getting really big and we’re gonna look fantastic in our bikinis (insert laugh here). Of course this happened just after the sun went down, and not only could we not get the autopilot to work, our steering has this funny “loose” feel to it. Yikes! ”This is not good,” says Larry. No shit thinks I. Ben was asleep - Larry and I did one hour shifts through the night steering in the confused seas – this being a new form of torture (going to sleep for an hour, getting up, going to sleep for an hour, getting up, I think you get the picture now) until we figured out the miracle medicine of the ipod. Better than any caffeinated drink or pill – just drown yourself in music. Oh, and I do have to remind myself to breathe, because in great moments of fright I find I have a tendency to hold my breath. So, by the second night and all three of us taking shifts – with the added addition of tootsie roll pops – a two hour shift was a piece of cake! Poor Larry tried in vain to fix her (Dory), even going as far as replacing the motor with a re-built spare we have. This of course meant emptying the aft lazarette again (third time is a charm, right?) and contorting around all those moving parts. The steering unit all looks okay although the cables may be loose, but this is going to just have to wait until we stop. Oh well, on the bright side this could have happened our third day out (insert sigh here).
The good news is that we will pull into Hiva Oa tomorrow morning!! We’ll actually arrive around ten this evening but as a rule we don’t pull into an anchorage in the dark, especially an unfamiliar one. I don’t know if I’m going to fall on my knees and kiss the ground when we get there, or if I’m going to puke but I cannot wait! The champagne is chillin in the ‘fridge as we speak. This really is quite an accomplishment. Larry says it’s the equivalent of driving from New York to Hawaii at about 7.5 mph. No rest stops, no greasy trucker diners, no playing tunes on the radio or listening to Dr. Laura or Rush Limbaugh – just us – plugging along.
They say you are supposed to be able to smell land after you have been out to sea for so long. I’ll get back to you on that one. At fifty miles out my sniffer is yet to detect anything except the fishy smell of the dead flying fish on our deck. They are practically the only form of life we have seen this entire crossing. It really has been quite boring. Another boat we chat with on the SSB has a kitty cat that is in seventh heaven as these live treats are literally delivered at its paws! I’ve been asking the boys what they are craving and they both said, “Hamburgers!” Larry though is also dying for ice cream. Me – fresh fruit and juice! Mmmmm…Silly me thought we would be living off the fruit of the sea, fish, but sadly no. Ben hasn’t really been in his “deadliest catch” mood which was fine by me seeing as most of the days have been too dangerous to step out of the cockpit, but we’re getting pretty hungry – only having had one serving of chicken in the past 3 weeks.
Well, as I close this posting I feel weirdly anxious. Can’t quite put my finger on it – this is going to be a long night. We send our love out to everyone. I cannot thank you enough for all your kind words, support, and prayer. We feel it to the core of our beings. XO