This time no talk about weather systems but some real highs and a perceived low. On
a quiet morning watch the weather was good enough to do a rig inspection. Despite
the fact that I am not a rock climber and only a starting airacrobat I managed to
find myself in a harness going up the mast. The waves on deck seemes calm and the
boat was moving along smoothly but again this was on deck level. Once 35 m up the
world is different. Every wave you're being catapulted forward and then back and
you need all your limbs and muscles to control your body in order to actually carry
out some work. Tighten a few screws, check for damage (and found some...) and fix
what has come off. After the check I did a few sail repairs on the main again in
climbing harness and luckily only halfway up. By the time I was finished I was
absolutely exhausted. This was most definitely the most exhausting sewing
experience ever and the result is the probably the ugliest! Luckily we need to fix
things and not produce high fashion sails ;-)
I can now say I have been up the mast in the southern ocean! The view was
spectacular by the way. No sign of the ozzies anywhere around us and the boat
looked perfectly small. It must be a similar experience as the moonwalkers had.
The universe (the ocean) is big and our planet (our boat) is only a tiny dot in the
vast universe.
Speaking of our tiny dot: the humidity on board is terrible. Everything that gets
wet, stays wet. Every sleeping session in the sleeping bag ends with damp sweaty
T-shirt/undies, socks don't dry, books get soggy and there is no way of opening a
hatch. There is only one creature that really likes it in here and that is "mold".
My leecloth (that protects me from being propelled from my bunk) seems to be their
favorite hang out. I think it is because that thing is always wet because I live
underneath the only two vetilation points in the boat. Lucky me.
I have discovered this morning that these bunks are only suitable for short
sleeping spells. Yesterday I felt like a rag all of a sudden: massive headache,
nausea, blocked nose and stomach cramps. I skipped dinner and went straight to bed
and my watch ordered me to stay put for an extra 4 hours as nothing was happening
anyway. After a luxurious 12 hour I climbed back out aching all over. I could not
find any position that would not hurt my back or shoulders. Feeling much better
now and with a double lunch in my belly I shall now return to the feared bunk.
Hopefully the mold will stay out my sleeping bag, because that is my real home:
always toasty warm!
Oh and we are in the lead and expanding our lead while all the above was going on.
