Nizuc - Blogs 27-30

Blogs 27-30BLOG 27 – We Have the Power The brown, Sargasso seaweed is now surrounding us in swathes, and the water is a pure blue. We have been looking for a lost fishing net, and a demasted Transac boat, but would be lucky to see it, but it’s nice to have a focus. We have sorted our battery problem by shorting the VSR, which was hindering us for safety reasons (kind of like when your car goes into meltdown because the puddle light isn’t working). The navigation has been easy without it, and we haven’t used the auto helm, anyway. We ended the day in perfect symmetry: the sun setting ahead of us, and the super moon rising directly behind us; we were definitely going west. Martin has been doing videos, today, so I hope they can be posted. That’ll do.BLOG 28 – A Good Washing Day When the. read more...

Nizuc - Blog 26

BLOG 26 – ‘We Survived for Days on Nothing but Food and Water.’Some stores are running low, but as you might expect, Martin has planned the trip pretty well.We have run out of the following: porridge, fresh food, coffee, chocolate, biscuits, but still have alternatives. We still have lots of water, but the captain says we need a lot of it for his bread-fruit plants – I can’t see that being a problem.There has been more talk of putting the clocks back; the sun is rising at about 0800 hrs, but I doubt we’ll do anything, now.The last few nights have been mostly dry, which is a relief, but the danger is always present in the early hours. The moonlight is helping with the visibility, but heavy squalls can make it impossible to see anything other than the compass.A lot of people have asked. read more...

Nizuc - Blog 25 – Six Quid

BLOG 25 – Six QuidSundayTwo giant squid on board, today, and we had squid-ink pasta for dinner (from a packet). We threw the giant squid back; they weren’t looking too well. The motion was better, with the pole on the other side, so perhaps proofreading this may be possible.MondayWe spotted a water-spout ahead (like a whirlwind), but it was well ahead of us, and not a threat.We had a talk about changing the clocks, today, but decided it was too late, and the last time caused a lot of confusion around the shifts.Twelve dolphins surfing off the bows is always a happy sight.We have been running the engine to charge the batteries, and with the combination of that, the heat, and the sneerking of the furler, people are not sleeping well.The moon is close to full, and the nights have been. read more...

Nizuc - Blog 23 Nizuk

Blog 23 – Squall or NothingThird night with limited power.We have torches, and some battery operated lights, but are mostly fumbling around between helm, galley, and bed, during the nights. Try blindfolding yourself at bedtime, and see how many objects you can kick on the way to bed. If you can’t get into your sleeping bag, the chances are it’s not your bag, or someone is already in it (everyone else snores, so this would be your clue).The excitement at the moment is spotting and avoiding squalls. A SQUALL is an acronym for Sequential Quatorial Upsurge At Localised Latitudes. When you think there is a squall coming, the sails need to be reduced, all hatches closed, windows shut, and waterproofs or shorts on, depending on temperature. Usually, by the time you have done all this, the. read more...

Nizuc - Blog 22 Nizuc

BLOG22 – Happy Birthday, Kenny.Kenny’s birthday, today (6/12). His favourite present was a bottle of rum from the crew, which we are hoping he will share. To celebrate, he baked a Shetland brownie, which was like fruitcake, but better. We did order flowers from an Aussie delivery/kangaroo company: they sent Flipper, who turned up, and showed us some tricks, but alas, he seemed to have forgotten the flowers. When we asked what kind of flowers he was meant to be delivering, he said they were Dolphiniums.Ba dum tish.Tumbleweed.Navigating without the usual instruments has been fun. We had a squall that was so heavy, the cockpit couldn’t drain fast enough, making it a bit like a paddling pool. Martin had to shine a torch at the compass, and shout the numbers out, and it came on so fast, we. read more...