feels good to be alive again.The rush of cold water from the ocean
scooped with a bucket and emptied over my head.My body jerks from the
shock and I laugh out loud,and do it again.Shampoo ,rinse ,conditioner
,rinse ,soap ,rinse with fresh water and stand in the hot sun to dry a
bit with the breeze tingling my skin.Forgot how awesome this feeling
is.Apparently it is a chemical that your brain secretes during various
physical activities ,cold water and laughter.Soulfood if you ask
me.Which is why some of my mad friends that surf in the cold water of
Cape Town also love it so much.So when you have a nice hot shower in
the morning,just before you close the taps,open the cold tap full and
blast some laughter into your day.Re-learning all these things at
47.Late bloomer I guess.Perhaps I will have my mid-life crisis when I am
70 something,chasing the nurses around in my wheelchair should I one day
end up in an old age home.And before that at least a tattoo or three
,earring ,Harley Davidson ,we only live once.For now though ,sailing is
what I do ,crossing the oceans ,long distance sailing I should say.To be
even more precise ,on this trip ,running a 47ft motor boat across the
Atlantic for 6000 odd nautical miles.
The past few days have been fairly eventful.A whale blessed us with it's
appearance ,even more special since we haven't seen any dolphins or
whales at all on this trip so far ,and we have covered two thirds of our
journey.About 200nm from the coast of Brazil.At our average cruising
speed of close to 8kts it is difficult to catch a fish.We use 2mm flat
braided line with a breaking strength of 1500kg attached to the boat
with a bungy.The hooks we are using for the first time is round circle
hooks that just lodges in the side of the fish's jaw,not the double
hooks we used to use that slams into the fish's mouth,causing severe
damage.Now we can release the fish if and when we want.But at this speed
the fish strikes,huge fish out here ,and snaps the line like a thin
piece of gut.Gone is the lure,the line and the fish.According to
scientists it takes about three days for the hook to rust off through a
combination of salt water and chemicals in the fish's mouth.We have
landed a big tuna earlier on in the trip but have in the interem lost
three lures.We came up with a plan to attach a 30ltr empty sealed drum
to the fishing line,and if it snaps it will take the drum with
it.Theoretically we then hope to follow the drum,haul it in and land the
fish in this manner.Huge marlin etc roams these oceans and we will have
towait and see how our plan works.All we really want is a dorado but
difficult to target them specifically.
Before sunset yesterday the sky was turning pinknand the sun
hazy,normally the first sign of a phenomenon we encounter out here at
times.Sahara desert dust.More than 2000nm away or about 3600 km in terms
you may be more acquainted with.Unusual so far down south,but here it
is,drowning the sun just a little.
We just had some freshly baked scones with strawberry jam and cream for
breakfast,damn decadent and damn nice.Rooibos tea to swallow it down
with.Only problem is that one overeats a bit but difficult not
to.Worrying that I might bore you stiff with our rantings and ravings I
will rather stop writing,even though I have much more to say.
So until next time,take good care.
Paul
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