BattPack Log Day 9 - I did the 1:00-4:00 shift and
despite a handover from my dear Dad who said, "There is nothing much going on up
there tonight Dulce", it was a busy shift! Our AIS alarm kept going off with a
message saying that there was a boat in our close range that was a dangerous
target. Despite close inspection, I could see nothing around the boat at all. I
wondered if there was any possibility that it was a whale?! I knew, of course,
that a whale couldn't come up on the AIS system which is based on radio
frequency. But by myself, on deck, in the middle of the night, and an image of
something described as a 'dangerous target' coming up underneath the boat, it
did cross my mind! Then, what looked like a star, began to flash a bright torch
light again and again at our boat. It was another boat, with just the steaming
light on but no navigation lights on. I signalled back to acknowledge that we
had seen them and realised that our satellite navigation was so zoomed out, that
it looked like they were right underneath us!
We saw dolphins today! Just a brief visit, but they swam
super fast, back and forth infront of our boat, much to our delight! How our
spirits lifted at the sight of them! We treated ourselves to a salt water shower
and hairwash on the bow. Oooooh how luxurious to be clean! Never before have we
noticed how radiant clean skin feels - something we take for granted at
home.
As we sat drying in the sun, Jay & I had a lovely
chat with Alex & Dad. Moments like these are to be treasured!
BattPack Log Day 10 - Dec 4th - Half way today! Half way
party begins - yay! Good food all day and celebration.
We are now officially in the middle, one thousand, five
hundred miles from anywhere. Whoaaaaaa. That is just bonkers! I took a pano shot
of the beautiful sunset tonight, and sat awhile on the flybridge soaking up the
moment. We are truly in the middle of nowhere and yet the fact that we are here
is momentous. I have never felt so tiny in all of my life. I feel humbled by the
vastness that stretches all around me, For the first time, on this trip, I feel
at peace. I breathe it in. Here we are on our little boat, floating on a sea
that is part of the Earth, which itself is spinning continuously around the Sun.
What else can we do but surrender to Life's flow?
As we start to get closer to the Caribbean, there is
increased likelihood of local squalls, which are unforecast and blow up quickly
with the potential to cause havoc. Jay briefs the nightwatch crew about these
squalls, so we are ready to take the right action when they occur. The wind is
behind us so that is where we need to watch out. We have set up our Sat Nav with
an additional Radar page, which can spot the squalls to give us time to take
action. The plan is to point the boat so that the squall is directly behind us,
call for help and reduce sails if the wind is too strong.
Ruby, Liberty and I make flapjacks for a yummy afternoon
snack. Then we create a feast for dinner to celebrate being halfway! BBQ steak
with sweet potatoe chips and veg. Scrum.
We call our family today to touch base. A real luxury!
It is heavenly to speak with them all -we are missing them dearly. How
incredible that our little sat phone can put us in voice contact with
them- at an extortionate price but it was truly worth it to hear their
voices!
The seas are pretty horrid still as we have swell coming
across the boat and the wind is behind us. The motion of the boat is very
confused. Sea legs come and sea legs go and we surrender to the
flow.