SailBlog

I had a good rest...!!!

I made remarkable good progress yesterday..89*20'E - 92*05' E. That is well over 2.5 degrees. Good on Inspired Sanity! In perfect winds...15kts. I think the magnetic variation is still more than the star pilot says...I keep inching north when I really shouldn't be. But essentially going where I want to go. Making Headway!!!

Today the winds should lighten more and shift south, becalm for 12 hours early morn til noon, then the winds fill in from the west, clock to NW and then I have good 15-20kt from NW for three full days with an approaching front. Will be three degree days and no sail changes...great sailing...but there is a big storm to south so will develop a seastate and build to 25kts + with gusts by Dec 1... 30kts for one period on the 1st in midday. All good stuff.

I will be 'back in the saddle' for a good run. Will be wild...but from NW so at least I am able to sit on my bunk... That makes a huge difference to my being able to write and keep busy... Today is another overcasted, drizzly day... so I am nestling in again. I am going to decorate for Christmas today....I managed to grab LED christmas lights... I won't have power to run the regular ones for very long very often. I brought a few things to hang up. I have my Christmas present from Bob stowed for the occasion. Bob's Christmas sock are finished but here and to be delivered personally.

So... Hopefully the sun will shine today...often, these NW lead ups to storms are blue sky days...so I am hoping to get some sun. The sky is different this morning but still overcast 90%...hoping it gives way to sunshine. Everything below is soggy from the days of drizzle...amazing how it all just aborbs the water. Any clothes that are not in bags...they just 'become' soaking wet.

I had put out my fishing line last night and had nothing on this morning when I checked the line. As the morning went along, three Albatrosses and several of the dark petrels, the new birds, and a couple stormy Petrels were all dancing around on the winds that were staying quite fresh cosidering the forecast. Yesterday, after I put the fishing line out I saw the whole flock of dark petrels seeming to land all around the line where it runs through the water as if the birds thought it was a run of fish or were just curious about it... I have seen 9the birds all do it, and have wondered when one of them was going to get caught in the line...

Well, it was a beautiful Albatross that managed to get wrangled by the 'lure' actually. It must have looked interesting to it... All three were landing and then I noticed the one was making motions that were not right...flailing its wings about..not able to get to flight. I knew it had to be caught...

I let the bungy off the reel and as I started to reel it in, sure enough, the Albatross was being pulled toward the boat...we were sailing at top speed at the time and the poor bird was being dragged behind me....

I was set wing on wing...so I furled in the jib first to slow us down... then I went on deck and lowered 80% of the mainsail onto the deck...just enough hanging to keep us from wallowing too hard in the seas. I had no idea how I was going to release the bird but I would figure it out.

I reeled the poor thing all the way into the boat. The lure hook was actually caught in the feathers right on it breast, right under its beak..it was trying to get it out but it was just a bit too close to get a good hold on with his beak, and it was stuck pretty well, enough that he was dragged in without it coming off on its own. I had no idea how deep it was, just in feathers or actually through skin. Once I had him in close enough to see the situation, I went and got my filet knife and a pair of scissors, not sure which would be best. The bird didn't try to bite me, but it continued to try to get the hook out and it attacked my knife as I was trying to work the hook out of the feathers...at this point, it didn't seem to be actually through any skin and there was no blood at all. So I finally was able to cut the feathers off the hook enough that it came clear...the bird falling back into the water and scrambling across the surface, taking flight ! Thank goodness...it se emed unharmed. Oh, sigh. So now what do I do about fishing? I will see. I have tried to fish on two different occasions and so far I haven't had any luck since I have been in the Southern Ocean so maybe I will just have to manage with what food I have.

I think I will resolve the need for calorie issue by better cooking the dried vegetables and grains so that they digest better. I also forced myself to add the vegetable powders to some water and drink that down...it is pure veggie greens and beets and I was counting on it for nutrition. I took a vitamin too... so I will see how much better I feel with just those changes and wait a bit for the fishing. I imagine I will have better luck south of the islands in the banks.

The wind did back to the south but has stayed up...a great sailing day, though still overcast and gusty at times. With the wind going ahead of the beam, the added apparent wind has spurred the wind generator on, so I am able to charge the batteries...as long as the generator doesn't get into that 'jet engine' mode...once it does, I have to shut it down...but so far, it has come back.

Bob McDavitt is now providing a terrific notation of my forecasts based on my expected progress... It is much like the information from the buoy weather, but it is able to follow my progress daily versus giving a forecast for one place at a time. So far though, I have winds today that are not on any forecast..they have actually gone SSE...they are suppose to be SW... but all good. We will see how the night goes. The Grib has the winds dying down to 'squiggly wigglies'...the McD forecast is for a bit more wind quite steady...hoping so. Right now the winds are shifting with each cloud that goes by so.

It will be good to see some sunshine. I am hoping that the NW winds will bring a bit of sunshine... the leading NW edges of most of these fronts have been sunny blue gale days so, without the gale force winds, I am hoping for sunshine.

My Christmas lights are up and working great. I am a child at heart when it comes to Christmas lights...they are the single most charming part of Christmas for sure. I have been dazzled by them since a small girl able to gaze at them for hours on the tree. Bob and I have taken to leaving them on our porch year round as they make such a lovely evening light. Bob said that he heard Christmas music playing on stations on Sirius radio before Thanksgiving...I am sure they are in full swing now. I think that I did manage to luck out and I have one Christmas CD...Unfortunately, I am finding that the CD player takes more power than I can often afford to use, so I will reserve it for nearer the occasion. I will have to brush up on all the carols and holiday songs I know and have been singing all my life. It is a hard time of year to be so far away, i will miss my kids and grandchildren so much, but Bob and I will get through it, and it will be an incredible milestone of my journey. I will be more than half way by then and getting around NZ... an important challenge to complete.

Keepin On Sailing On a Dream... Drawing nearer and nearer in meditation and communion as it is the nearest I can ever be to all those I love so dearly... being so far away I am able to spend more and more time with them in my spirit...so close... They are all dearer to me than ever as I commune with them in their God Consciousness, their true being. An amazing Blessing.

Fairest of Winds and the Love of the Ocean Only Gratitude Donna

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