Whatever it was that you all said to Neptune yesterday, it must have worked. Conditions today were beautiful once the clouds cleared. Wave height, wind speed, and temperature were all perfect for a comfortable and profitable day’s rowing. It is very rare to get good mileage AND pleasant conditions. In fact, in around 500 days at sea I can probably count such days on the fingers of two hands. So it was VERY much appreciated.
The only problem with today was that I’ve had “Bad” by Michael Jackson going around in my head all day. I blame whoever it was (sorry for not remembering) who pointed out that my boat is acting as a FAD – a Fish Aggregating Device. And it occurred to me that, as well as the multitude of chaps downstairs, Sedna must also be a BAD – a Bird Aggregating Device, because the storm petrels regularly swoop around us as if magnetically drawn to this strange little purple object on a vast empty ocean.
So then I started humming, “I’m FAD, I’m BAD, you know it, come on” etc etc and now the tune won’t get out of my head. I might well be stuck with it all the way to the other side of the ocean. But it’s not all bad (so to speak) – it reminded me of Rico’s brilliant “ITCZ” (sung to the tune of “YMCA”) to commemorate my trials and tribulations in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone – and that made me smile.
I often wonder what the local wildlife makes of me. How does Sedna look to a fish? To a bird? If they wander off, how do they find me again? What is the biological imperative that makes them congregate around me? Do the fish recognize the rhythm of my oars, or are their memories so short that it gives them a surprise every time the oars enter the water?
Other Stuff:
On top of everything else good that happened today, I discovered a bag of “Cosmic Love Cluster” nuts from Samudra. I thought I’d eaten them all, but this bag must have been hiding. I am due to pass a Significant Milestone tomorrow (wish I could tell you which one!) so now I have my celebratory food treat. Hurrah!
Rachel and Ellie - thanks for the ID on the white-tailed tropic bird. Sounds exactly right. He did a low-level fly-over to check me out – luckily no bombs dropped! Doug, your ID of the same was just plain daft! LOL!
Stan – thank you for your wise and intelligent comments on David H’s guest blog. Keep spreading the word, and hopefully one day we will reach that tipping point and see a major outbreak of common sense.
Quote for the day – apropos of nut discovery: “Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.” (Alice Walker)
Sponsored Miles: Thanks to Steve Maskell and Diane Freeman, both of whom have sponsored a number of miles.
