08 March 2006
8th March 06
Location: Pacific Ocean, in the dark, 6 degrees 36’ N 81 degrees 02’ W
Weather: Cloudless sky, wind has dropped now from 20 knots to 4 knots
Quote of the day: “Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something……..I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down!”
On this Day 29 years ago Sir Frances Chichester had 25/30 knots of wind on the beam and was rounding the horn doing 5 and ½ knots. We have 15/20 knots of wind up the chuff and making a ground speed of a steady 9 knots it just so happens he too was complaining on the 7th March about these flipping analogue gauges, our new B&G Hydra 2000 are working a treat, I am laying in Chichester’s bunk watching these dials go from a speed of 0.5 to 3.0 knots as the boat pitches from one side to the next.
On to more important things, Gipsy moth used to have a gimballed or self levelling chair which has been taken out and replaced with this new hi tech cutting edge coms station, No chance we could swap it back is there?, this would make the astro sight reductions and daily logs much easier! While your at it could u also put the beer and gin back on board! (no, I thought not, well it was worth an ask! I just thought it would be in the spirit of the project and to keep the resemblance between Sir Frances Chichester’s punishing endurance and ours, I guess there is always the ship’s cask of Rum that we are transporting to Australia!)
Ta Skipper Sam Connelly
Well today I’ve been learning how to Astronavigate, using the sun to tell where we are, as if I hadn’t found the coms onboard difficult enough! I have seen the light of day to take sights and that’s
about it!!! I’m melting down below decks as we surge on towards Galapagos. The night’s sky is amazing out here with no light pollution.
Gipsy Moth IV is very interesting to sail, as Chichester said “My God, she’s a rocker” how right he was! It’s a bit little trying to work in the house of fun at the fair, the floor is always going
the other way to you! Great fun though, and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.
No contact with home now, I hope my Wife Fiona and children Jack, Emily and Lucy are OK back home on the Isle of Wight.
The Ellen MacArthur Trust crew have all taken turns redecorating the side of the boat during the course of the day, only Laura, Sam and I seem to have escaped………………. so far!
Jon Curtis (mate)
Hey everyone it’s Maria here it’s 9.00 o’clock at night Panama time. I have just finished my first duty about to go to bed for a sleep thought I would write to you first. Yesterday we left for
sailing it was all very exciting for everyone on board we couldn’t wait to get out into the ocean. I think at one point we all felt a little sea sick but hey that’s natural. Anyways last night my
first night watch was amazing the sky was lit with so many stars, only one word to describe it magical I didn’t want to leave night duty. Today has been good also at one point we were doing 9knots
with sails alone which is really good we hope to keep up the good progress. Thanks for all your support guys keep in contact and keep watching and writing.
Love Maria xxxx