Day 16 – Monday 24 February.
By Cathleen Hughes.
As each crew member awoke for their early morning shifts, they were greeted with the most stunning glow of phosphorescence. Throughout the whole trip, not once has it been this prominent. As the light swell lapped at the boat, the waves rolled back and spread out revealing thousands of tiny phosphorescent organisms. The prop created a glowing snail trail behind the boat as if hundreds of green glow sticks had been chewed up and spat out by the motor.
After motoring for the entire day yesterday, we eventually had to fill the tanks up with the remaining fuel that we had in the jerry cans. Once the tank was filled with this fuel, we only have one more day of motoring. This means that we just have to hope and pray for wind, or we will bob around until it reaches us.
At dawn it was easier to see why we had such a smooth night. The sea was like glass and reflected the colours of the sunrise almost perfectly. We knew we were in for another day of no wind and no swell. The sound of the motor has become part of the journey at this point and everyone is so used to it that it has become part of the background. Every now and then we like to turn the motor off to experience the silence and remember what it feels like to be under sail.
Looking at the GRIB files, the wind is supposed to pick up tomorrow afternoon followed by the cold front on Wednesday. We can predict that we should be in Tristan by Friday night or Saturday morning. We will refill with diesel and water there, spend the night and head off the next morning. Our weather navigator, Chris, is fairly confident about his forecast and is even willing to take bets.
For dinner, we had two beautiful Dorado’s to do what we pleased with. The one lot of fillets was basted with garlic and olive oil and seasoned with spices before it was baked in the oven. The second lot was coated with flour and Cajun spice and then pan fried in oil, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice and garlic. The fish was like nothing we have ever tasted before. Many of the crew members were so impressed that they were offering money for the chef’s recipes. Lorraine and Ashwyn said that there is no recipe, they simply use what they can find on board.
After dinner, the younger crew members; Chris, Lorraine, Ashwyn and Cathleen retired to the fore peak and shared stories in true ‘camp fire style’ but without the fire. With the stories, they sneaked a slab of chocolate as well as cups of hot chocolate and tea. Peter, Renier, Virgil and Rory all gathered in the cockpit for their own evening chat with tea, coffee and chocolate chip cookies. It’s good for crew members to chat together as it keeps tensions from rising by expressing feelings as well as creating stronger friendships.
After a while, Renier wanted to sleep so the occupants were thrown out of the fore peak and they made their way up onto the deck. The phosphorescence was so beautiful again that they could not pass up the opportunity for a night swim amongst the phosphorescence. The rest of the crew stayed on board and took pictures with the glass like water stretching out into the distance and the sunset creating a perfect background.
GPS: S33° 28’ 82” / W019° 48’ 68”
HEADING: 146°