Day 10
02 April 2007 | On board
Greg
We are setting a cracking pace across this magnificent ocean. Our noon to noon run was 167 miles - the fifth day in a row we have exceeded 150 miles.
Yesterday we were sailing so upright downwind, @ 6-7 knots, Debbie was able to make 3 pieces of beautiful beaded jewellery, 2 pairs of earrings and a matching bracelet. She's doing to them to barter for our lobsters and black pearls when we get to the Marquesas.
We picked up a passenger yesterday afternoon and he stayed with us until this morning. No amount of coercion was going to work to get him away - including a full frontal spray of our wasp repellant that we carry because there are too many questions asked about mace. He just shook his beak, stared at me and stayed where he was. I think her thought he could sit here all night and eat the flying fish that came aboard rather than having to fly and catch them himself. By morning, we were on speaking terms and I actually went around the deck picking up the flying fish to give him some breakfast but he wasn't having a bar of anything that was already dead and took a bite at me instead. That soured the relationship and I had to revert to the old give him him a clip around the head with the fishing gaff routine for him to get the message it was time to leave.
Actually we had another uninvited visitor last night as well. Debbie was stretched out on the settee reading and minding her own business when a flying fish came down the saloon hatch onto her lap. Well, you can imagine the reaction that got.
A word of warning. We are now quite a long way from the shore based radio relay stations we use to transmit our emails. We have been using San Diego, Corpus Christi, Florida and Panama but daytime propogation prohibits that now and we are increasingly struggling to get a station at night. As we move further west we should be able to use Hawaii but the point is we may find we have a period where we can't get a message out. Please don't panic if this happens and call out the navy. It's quite normal when making an ocean passage to be out of touch for a few days and it doesn't mean we have a problem.
PS. Our fine feathered friend has returned and is sound asleep on the bimini. I'm examining different ways of preparing bar-b-qued booby. #
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