1942hrs 06 Feb 2005 UTC 47’50”S 158’42”W Map Ref 49 2465nm
As we get close to half way in distance between Sydney via Hobart to the Horn not counting the diversion to Dunedin, this exercise begins to develop its own perspective. We are in second term of first year at Uni – early excitement of getting started, meeting friends again and being generally chatted up by everyone who needs a vote or a new member for their team, new subjects and ideas; all now mostly a vague memory as we deal with weekly assignments, often boring lectures, seemingly endless future of headbang before the next break. (Second term of second year probably somewhere in the Atlantic – that’s the real downer). Or at about 12k in a marathon when I at least start to wonder what the hell I’m doing wasting a perfectly good sunday hurting myself and trying not to think of the next 30.182k. The trick there is reductio ad absurdam – every metre is one less to run, every k is a bit over 2% of the distance – and then focus on each mini fraction and get it right. Adding in little tasks like catching the guy (usually girl these days) in front makes the whole thing bearable.
I wonder what it’s like up in the space station. Those guys have a very tight regime which is sometimes not helpful as far as endurance goes. Pity we cant get internet access out here – would be nice to know whether their orbit goes this far south and if so when they are passing over – the nearest humans to us at that moment, probably – and we could prepare a small libatory offering in their honour. Any bloody excuse, Whitworth. Pete didn’t mention the need for ritual and celebration in his stunningly accurate moan about deserving more booze but it adds to the opportunities.
Had actually intended to try and construct a socio-anthropological spoof along the lines of the Nacirema but gave up – I’m too rusty on the terminology and the intellect wilted at the consequences of getting it wrong. Where are you when I need you, JR? Descend from the steel cupola at the top of your concrete tower and talk to one of your fans. And anyway, what tribe would ever think of calling themselves the Allimirreb – on second thoughts, it comes straight from Petrie or Stobart or one of those industrious imperial writers and diggers chasing the ancient Assyrians – might work after all.
And there’s the daily cycle of mood swings to be dealt with. Often depends on the sort of day we wake up to – glorious, sunny start or, as mostly down here, grey, damp, claggy and depressing – just like summer in England. Today is g,d,c&d so it’s going to be a day of achieving little things a metre at a time. I’ve run the engine for its weekly warm up and made 4.5 litres of desalinated water. Probably need to change from the coarse pitch turbine to the fine – at the 5 -6 kts we are getting, the coarse one just doesnt get the revs to stay ahead of the battery drain. Must at least pull it in and check for chafe. Wash the little mungies and maybe harvest the cress for a cheese sandwich later. Perhaps make some bread. Scrape the whiskers off the jowls again. All that stuff. Plus all the formal radio skeds and the informal sailmail and grib activity. Makes for a good thirst. Yesterday we sent Derek Barnard at Penta Comstat our sign-off email – we can hear him but he can’t hear us any more. No more of his dulcet tone until December – a really big hole in daily life – onya Derek – huge thanks and keep up the good work till we get back.
John W – the amazing and fantastic WM Diesel engine survived its knockdown half barrel roll and started first kick – tricky to prime with bent ribs but. What do you reckon it burns at idle revs? Seems to be about 2ltr/hr at 6kts. We have to conserve diesel till the Falklands so we have to sail out of the somewhat unexpected number of holes we have found. Doug, thanks for the internet site – Steve is going to check it and send me any useful data to plug into sailmail’s propagation prediction app. which is based on ICEPAC and generally very accurate. And thanks to the starlings for Waltzing Mailda – never heard of Davenport but seems to be someone we could have had a beer with. End of first lecture for the day.