Today I crossed the Equator again, but no bubbly this time, as I lost my Pollywog-hood (Pollywogness? Pollywoggery?) last year. Too bad, as it was definitely cocktail hour when it happened.
I got no help from the elements today. Dead calm conditions, apart from during a couple of brief squalls this afternoon, and very little current. So it was all my own work (said with tone of pride).
So now I have crossed from N to S once again. And this time I intend to stay S, although how much S is still open to debate. I’m not worrying too much about it for now. I will just keep pushing south, which I need to do regardless of whether I am aiming for Australia or PNG, and I’ll just see how far south I can get before the prevailing winds kick in again. And take it from there.
For now life on board the Brocade is just tickety-boo.
Other Stuff:
There seem to be TWO Alfs. This morning I saw one spider on each side of the fore cabin roof. This is good. I like to have two of everything on board – just in case.
There was a lot of marine activity around my boat this morning. Patches of frenetic splashing at the surface, with birds swooping in to presumably scavenge the leftovers. Can’t tell you exactly what was happening, as it was all below the surface. But as it started about 2 minutes after I’d got out of the water for my morning swim, it freaked me out a bit. Am very much hoping this is not typical shark feeding behaviour, or my swims may be curtailed.
My skin is now falling off in large swathes. I’m quite glad I can’t see much of my back. From what I can see it is an interesting tapestry of red bits, brown bits, bubbly bits and peely bits. But what I can’t see doesn’t worry me. And this, my friends, is the fundamental problem with communicating most of our environmental problems.
Book review: very much enjoyed “Unexpected Thunderstorms” by William Boyd, one of my favourite authors. Set in the less salubrious parts of London, it’s gritty and urban, but a good murder mystery with interesting characters – none of whom are all good or all bad, but a very human mixture of the two. Recommended.
Am now enjoying “Outlander”, which I think was recommended to me by David Wilmot of Ocean Champions. I extracted a whole load of book recommendations from him when he and his wife hosted a dinner party so I could meet J Maarten Troost, author and one-time resident of Tarawa. I still haven’t read the resulting book – The Sex Lives of Cannibals. Must do so!
And finally, spare a thought for my sister, who is setting out to walk 500 miles across Spain (the Way of St James) for Shelterbox, an impressive organization that sends aid boxes and deployment teams to areas hit by disasters. Good luck, Tanya!
[photo: nothing but a rainbow to mark the Equator]
