3:04.04N 76:31.89E
Midday through the afternoon and just starting my fourth book of the
passage. The wind is working against us so we are motor sailing a good deal
of the time - the engine noise is annoying but you do get used to it after a
while. So not too much else to do but read. There is quite a bit of cloud
cover today so we are keeping a constant eye on the radar. A few squalls
have headed past us and we ensured we kept a good distance.
Night watch last night seemed a little easier. We kept to 3 hours per watch
and made sure we kept the discipline going to see through the time ensuring
the other one gets long enough for a half decent sleep. The previous 2
nights were a real battle to stay awake, but we do seem to be catching up on
sleep ok again now.
We have a few things to do on board. I need to write up my shopping list
for when I get back to Dubai. Unfortunately, I have been a bit careless
when emptying our "washing up" bucket overboard. To conserve water we pull
sea water on deck in a bucket and keep it handy for dishes as the day
progresses. Once or twice the water in the bucket has ended up decidely
murky so needed to be emptied and a fresh supply bought on board. On two
occasions the bucket was not completely empty when I threw the water and the
remaining contents overboard - and have gifted a plate, some spoons, and a
terracotta yoghurt/curd pot to the ocean. So some of my shopping is self
inflicted as I replace the items now drifting somewhere in the Indian Ocean.
Given the speed at which we are reading, I will bring back a good supply of
fresh books when I return to the boat in June. A few more magazines won't
go amiss too.
Looks like we have at least another 3 days before we hit land - though we
hope to start heading down the Maldives coast in a couple of days. It is
ironic - at night it is a blessed relief to know there isn't another boat
for miles and miles, but it will be a relief to know the coast is in
reasonable proximity though I guess that will mean more boats to look out
for too. Heading west now will hopefully enable us to sail south to reach
the final destination at Gan.
|
