Difficult to imagine perfect sailing conditions but these get close. The downside is the current, still negative 1.5 kts. However, not a Golgafrinchan telephone sanitiser, not a marketing executive, not a snake oil preacher - just no-one else around, 15 kts on the beam, gentle sea, Berri pottering along at 6kts SOG, 7.5 log. Lizzie whizzing and keeping the batteries ahead of the drain and Kevvo in charge down at the back and in happy commune with the Lizz. The electric autopilot has died again - not sure whether I have successfully resurrected it but it's asleep.
Absolutely no news of the outside world except barest details of tragedy in Burma and Chinese earthquake. Nothing, but nothing else - no US primaries, no olympic torch, no wars, no climate change....which reminds me, I have a short wave radio - must try to get it operating while things are relatively calm.
H - glad K is safe - little does she know! We are now north of Taiwan - I think - so getting closer to Beijing. The dried fruit you found for us is sensational - no other word for it. Thee rock melon and the pawpaw soften up beautifully but the kiwi goes to mush. The rest as expected.
Doug M - tks for reminder about La Perouse. A bit of Australian/French history that could so easily have gone the other way. Do you have a short version of the story as you have found it that you could send a link to Speedy for the website?
MJC - yep, and thanks, but that's the maths for the deflection, which I've always understood. What I was trying to get at is why this huge - gobsmackingly enormous - chunk of the earth's surface is effectively going backwards and taking us with it. Obviously, it curls the 'wrong' way intuitively (for us non geeks) when it gets deflected by Australia or Asia and becomes the Brown Snake or the EAC but why does it move in the first place?
Nearest Sailmail station is now Hawaii @ 1924 nm, then Brunei @ 3260, then Firefly NSW @ 3461 and then Sailmail HQ Friday Harbour WA @ 3545. Will be a notable milestone if we ever get to connect to them. Lots of time for Jim and Sue and the Saimail team. Perhaps an Accolade, Speedy, By Appt. to the world wide Sailmail team for wonderful, dedicated hugely efficient service around the world. Just reaching Hawaii sometimes, but this is the first time I think that I have ever been effectively out of range.
We're now north of the Tropic of Cancer. Hoooley dooley - next big milestone might be the Arctic Circle @ 66.5N. Am about to go up the mast to create a mousing line either side to get the running part of the staysail halyard over the lower spreaders and back to the quarter so as can use it as a check stay when things get violent again. It emerges from the mast inches below the inner forestay so is in just the right place. Will consider a tang when in dutch. There's a lot of boat speak for the nautically challenged!
