Monday PM Update

Well as expected the wind continued to drop till we were just flapping around going nowhere so the motor is on again. And Ive got paper stuffed in my ears to try and muffle the sound a bit. The sea has settled down to an almost glassy low swell and we are just trundling along over it. I saw two pods of dolphins earlier but they were half a mile off and weren't interested in coming over to play with Sapphire. I also saw another Jellyfish , but that's about it folks, not much happening but we've made 100 miles in the last 24 hours. I'm heading slightly south of the direct line to North Cape to anticipate some wind arriving down that way a lot sooner than if I just kept heading straight across. I've got enough diesel for about 60 hours of motoring but I hope to god I don't have to motor that long. The weather forecast is for light and moderate winds for several days so I might be spared nighttime dramas for a while.

I mentioned the water dripping in previously but I didn't detail what happened. I was in the cockpit and casually looked into the cabin and saw water on the floor- only maybe a cupful but it shouldn't have been there so I went down to investigate. I first inspected the bilges, dreading that I might find water starting to flood in from somewhere and feeling quite sick, but they were as dry as they ever are. Next I looked in the locker under the berth I am now sitting on where the batteries are, and to my horror found them surrounded by dirty brown water sloshing everywhere. Where the hell was that coming from? I freaked thinking my power supply was about to go down and grabbed two big fat sponges and a bucket and started soaking up all the water. The locker is not big so the water only filled the bucket twice, and very soon the batteries were safe. Now I had to figure out where the water had come from - it was obvious if there was a leak it was minor because over the next hour I managed to mop up another maybe another half a cup. Eventually I concluded there was a very slow leak from the deck somewhere above, and the water had been building up in there, perhaps for weeks, but only became visible when Sapphire was heeled right over, then the water managed to slop out onto the floor. I left the sponge in there and today have squeezed out maybe another half cup, so thats not a problem, but I have to say I was sweating there for a while and thinking oh no here we go again!

In the meantime I've dried out all my dirty clothes which had been used to mop up the drips last night, and Ive finished reading Christopher Hichens book, "God is not Great" which I enjoyed very much. Not sure what I will be reading next but I have a supply of books to pick something from.

I haven't been able to keep up with Jessica Watson's progress but I am sure she must have days like this when the wind is light or absent and the boat wont sail. She must find it even worse than I do because she isn't allowed to turn on the motor - except to charge batteries and stuff.

Sapphire Out

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