Convoys

I inadvertently broke my self-imposed puritanical ocean passage ban on alcohol today. I made a rice-pudding in which the recipe called for 1 cup of raisins pre-soaked in rum. When cooked, it turned out well, so one bowl led to another and before I knew it I was inelegantly groping for hand-holds out of keeping with the smooth sailing conditions. I ended up laying down for 5 minutes "rest" and promptly fell asleep, waking up an hour later feeling a little steadier. Talking of which, I've passed close to an area of the sea marked on the chart as the "Carlsberg Ridge" - could this be a cunning corporate sponsorship deal with mapping agencies designed to send thirsty sailors' minds spinning, or could it have been that the founders of the namesake brewery were incapacitated with seasickness in the vicinity and recognised similar effects from their brew..

It's been an easy sailing day. There's been a gentle trade wind blowing all day and we've been making 3-4 knots. The great news is the wind has veered to the NE, so I can ease the sails slightly and still make my course. All hatches are open again, and sheets aired. I'm not setting any speed records, but it makes for very relaxed sailing.

I've made contact with boats further north, who are heading in convoy into the gulf of Aden. I'm slowly converging with them, and plan to join the convoy before we enter the active pirate zone. So I've changed my waypoint to match the one they're heading for. The new waypoint is 300 miles closer so it feels like I'm making great progress.

As it was so calm I tried to resuscitate my camera after water leaked into the "water-proof" case. It seemed to work again when partially disassembled, but when a gust caused the contents of my work surface to shift dramatically to the side, I moved onto another project.


Position @ 12:00 (GMT+5), 16/02/2009: N7deg 23' E065deg35'
Distance to Gulf of Aden: 637
Engine Hours: 0
Daily run: 85