Day 12: Rollin’ in the deep
Today had been a day of rolling. A sloppy side to side motion as we are
becalmed again and have variable, slight, fluky winds. We have spent the day
looking at the deep blue of the ocean and scanning the horizon for boat and
birds. Both have been absent from view. The roll is an odd movement
as we lollop from side to side. Its not particularly relaxing and LC seems
to find it hard too. She creaks and groans as she rolls and gives herself
up to the dance of the sea. Though the surface of the sea is glassy, the
undulations of the ocean mean that we are still having a wave motion rolling at
us gently from the east.
Today we have sorted our onions! When we provisioned we based our
onion order on one to two per day and asked for 48 onions This was based
on the average size of onion purchased in the UK. Our face must have been
a picture when they arrived. They were huge. Onions on steroids.
Whoever said size doesn't matter is wrong. It does on a boat. We
were left scratching our heads as to where to store this immense volume of
onions. The solution was in a net strung above the lee cloth in Ewen and
Cals room. There they have stayed since swinging in a response to the
rolling. However this was not as perfect as it sounds. As onions
roll they shed bits of their skin. This has been raining down like
confetti onto Ewen and Cal as they have slept. They have been very
tolerant but enough is enough. Hoovering ones bed daily wears thin after a
while and today the onions moved on to new resting places. They are now residing
in spaces created by munching through our provisions. Our fresh fruit and
veg is dwindling now. The die hard carrots and potatoes are surviving well
and we had the last of the mangoes at tea, but I watch the decreasing supply of
satsumas with sadness.
So what is working really well for me on LC. Hovering around the top
of the list is the lee cloths. I just love them. Last year we crewed
on the ARC on a French boat a jeanneau 57. She was a beautiful boat, light
and airy and we were fortunate enough to have our own cabin that was situated
forward and starboard. We had a cosy three quarter size bed that was really
comfortable. We set off from Las Palmas and that first night snuggled down
to sleep. For those of you who weren't there we set off in a force 8 and
the seas were pitchy. As Dona Flor rolled, we rolled and the mattress
slid. We all ended up (or should I say down) on the floor, Dave myself and
the mattress in varying combinations of order. The mattress was held on by
velcro and there was no lip of wood to secure it in place and no lee
cloths. We became acutely aware of what we called the pitching
angle. That is the angle of the boat that caused slippage and us to be
catapulted onto the floor. Several bruises later Dave slept on the floor and we
secured the mattress with string. So lee cloths are a luxury. I just
love them. They provide comfort and security and Dave would say he now gets a
fair half of the bed!
Lee cloths stop us rolling: Rollin’ in the deep.
Fish update.... Marigold glove 1 : Professional fish lure
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