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Positions
173 20.28N 29.03W
Skardu Log Day #7 (28th November 2004):
Two horrible words to sailors: 'storms' and 'becalmed'... we were predicted to be heading into the
first today, but instead found the latter!! There is nothing more trying on the patience at sea than a
lack of wind - mutinies aboard tall ships almost always occurred when the sails flapped lifelessly!
Our speed has been dropping consistently for a couple of days, and last night the wind finally
died to nothing, the sails flogging against the rigging as we bobbed helplessly on the waves, and
the log not turning. In an effort to keep momentum we spent much of the day making sail
changes, but eventually admitted defeat at 2am, dropped the sails, and for the first time had to
resort to the 'Iron Genoa' for propulsion, motoring for a couple of hours to find a breath of air again.
Fed up with the lack of winds, and looking for some excitement on board, Mark decided to throw
out one of our fishing lines again. Almost like clockwork (late afternoon feeding time) we caught a
small Dorado. This time it was much easier to bring in, not only because of its modest size, but
also because we were only doing 3 knots! Subsequently two more have been hauled onboard
today: fresh bounty had we not so much meat in the fridge needing consumption - needless to
say we threw them back in to live another day. The last one was more curious than the rest
though, and insisted of having a tour of the aft cabin (it flapped through the open hatch) before it
was set free.
Very strange, but in our own little cocoon it doesn't feel like we're in the middle of the Atlantic! Our
visual horizon is about 3-10 miles, dependant on the conditions, and we keep imagining that land
has just disappeared out of
sight: it's hard to comprehend that the nearest land is about 3 miles underneath us, and the
nearest dry land is 300 miles south-east, in the form of the Cape Verde islands.
24hour run to 12.00GMT = 106 NMiles
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