It was 37* at 06.30 this morning below decks!!. I slept for 2 hrs before it becomes impossible. It"s now9am and I am sitting on the staysail, looking out over the Pacific Ocean, with Acapolco off to my left probably about 35miles away. I know I told you we were off Acapolco yesterday, well surprise we still are after 24 hrs of exhausting effort.
The plan was to cut away from the rest of the fleet, which Gareth believed were heading into a wind hole, guess what, they are sailing and we have the wind hole!! PSP made the same decision as us and occasionally we catch sight of their mainsail. I feel for them, this is an awful predicament.
I suppose the lack of sailing has been my biggest surprise and disappointment. I prepared myself for hard, strenuous work, the inactivity is causing feet and legs to swell in the heat and sores on the butt. It's impossible to keep dry. Changing clothes takes gigantuen effort as the cloth sticks to the skin and refuses to budge. Interesting fact, the finer the material the more it sticks!!
I am sitting under the awning, which appeared on deck today, listening to the good humoured banter of my fellow sea farers. Latest update, at 08.46, we are cruising at a very respectful 3 mph, just sliding off the west coast of Mexico, lunch cooking has started in the galley and the temp. Is steadily rising.
Quick update on the 7 sqid. Lawrence won the day and yesterday, he cleaned and cut them into little pieces. They are back in the fridge, the one that had the putrifying chicken in it! I'm not sure how long they will be left there, it is so sad that they were not returned to the sea and have become just more food waste!
Gareth, our leader, has persevered with the fishing rod, off the back of the boat. He cast the line about 3 days ago. As the sun rose this morning a pod of playful dolphins visited us. I think one of them did us all a favour and snapped the line. It seems that after 8 months of sailing round the world Gareth has landed 1 small fish and lost most of his fishing tackle! Not a good return on the ship's meagre fund!!
And so the ebb and flo of life on board the good ship Qingdao continues. Spirits remain steady. Keith has just tipped a bucket of water over Nick's head, soaking his ciggies. I wonder how long this good humour will last in these appalling conditions.
Ps. Something that has been playing on my mind since SF is the throwing overboard of all the tin cans and some aluminium ones! Seems wrong to me!
11am and just dropped the windseeker and hoisted the C 1, wind at last ! PSP have pulled about 2 miles ahead, does this put us in 12 th place?
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