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28
March 2001
The alarm clock rang at 5 a.m. and I set sail(s) and left. It's a 45 mile
sail(/navigation) and I would rather arrive in daylight. Shortly after I threw
the fishing line in the water I got a rise. I'm reeling the line around a(/the)
cleat I use for mooring/making my dinghy fast. And suddenly the reel(/spool)
flew up to the cleat, and when I pulled the line, it just got longer. My line is
a 55 kilogram line and the fish must have been huge(/enormous) because the
"keyring" on the forerunner was pulled apart and forerunner and fish
disappeared.
There is a poor wind and my speed is around 2.5 to 3.5 miles/hour.
Perfect wind, the Pacific Ocean
After some hours the wind completely disappeared and when I had drifted around a
bit, I decided to use all my gas to get to shore. It seems rather stupid to
spend two days on such a small distance. I arrived using the last quarter of a
litre shortly after sunset.
Nat was ready and then the party continued.
Nat and I have had serious conversations. I'm going (with her, edit) to Canada
and have to find out what I'm gonna do about Trojka. If it isn't possible to
leave it there/sell it, I might be obliged to continue on to New Zealand. But
then I'll also get to see Tonga, which I would like to see, I think.
29 March 2001 Academy Bay, Santa Cruz Island, the Galapagos Islands
(archipelago)
We started the day (off) be cleaning(/cleansing) the hull on Trojka for ??? and
other rubbish(/junk). I'm convinced that I'm losing at least 1 mile an hour or
more, that is more that 25 miles a day. It was a hell of a job. They must have
gotten stuck when I drifted on the last trip. Nat is a good partner, she slaves
away.
I think(/believe) Trojka needs some painting. There are some white spots on the
??? and it doesn't seem to be "working" any longer. Surely a little wax would
also help. Every time I have been sailing for a couple of weeks she's
all(/completely) yellow along the sides. It gets stuck if I don't wash it off
with soap fairly quickly. But it's also nearly a year ago I left Denmark, where
it was waxed and painted a month before(/previously).
30 March 2001
I'm (now, edit) a "permanent" crew member on Beacon. Actually I live and eat
there when we're not sailing and David's a delightful guy. I'm more than
welcome. It's no secret that Nat and I are lost in each other.
The four of us hired(/rented) a pickup truck and had a splendid trip to he
mountains and saw the large turtles, who are living in the woods. They're really
huge and can live to be 90 years old.
We went shopping and Nat insisted that we should buy(/on us buying) water and
more drinking bottles for Trojka together. She wants to be sure that I have
enough, and she has talked(/lectured) me about saving water. And it's true. I
haven't been good enough "economizing" (and I don't take it seriously enough).
I'm using way too much water, and that won't do on this trip. So now we have
bought extra drinking bottles and around(/roughly) (something under) 200 litres.
If I use a little less than three litres a day I would have enough(/I'm good)
for 70 days. I'm hoping for rain. I can catch that in my mainsail by slackening
the haul up so I'm getting(/to get) a pleat(/crease), then lift the boom a
little (along) with the (boom) topping lift to make it(/the water) run forward.
Again, we have found(/come across) eating places where you for just(/only) 1 US$
can get (a bowl of, edit) soup, a rice dish and a glass of juice.
Nat and I went to the Darwin Institute, which is one of the places where these
giant turtles are (being) bred. (Real giants.) |
