Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Bored of the sea.

The winds have really died on us and the forecast doesn’t show it’s going to be any better for a couple of days.

We are now doing rubbish speeds.

I might just sell my soul for some sleep, wind, booze and fish.

686nm to go.

I changed the year old trolling lines for new lines – the same as we put on the line we gave to Leu Cat (that has been catching tuna). I made up a new lure to replace the latest loss the same as the lure we gave. The lines were out all day. How much did we catch? Zip.

Winds are beginning to die on us getting into the 15 knot range. Without our Code Zero our progress is not what we’d like it to be and hopes for a May 1st arrival are now being stretched. It’s still possible but we’ll need favourable winds for the next four days and right now it’s not happening. Such is life. The light winds mean we’ve been unable to regenerate effectively overnight. Not in of itself a problem as if winds do pick up we’ll catch up on what we’ve used in a day or two. The additional effect is we’re seeing less benefit from the wind generator.

Finished “Hound of the Baskervilles” and now onto “A Study in Scarlet”.

As we head west, dawn and sunrise gets later and later on our current time system. My 8 am shift now occurs at dawn. My favourite time of the day. With my cup of coffee, I sit up at the helm and watch the world light up. The sun slowly peeks up over the horizon making the water glitter and sparkle. Sunrise obscured by clouds are often even more dramatic. Rays beam out and through the clouds the growing glow changes colors and intensity. There’s always that fresh feeling of expectation and promises of something new.
My night shift is also improving. The moon is waxing and it will be full moon in a few days. I can see clearly the scattered black clouds, the silver shimmer of the sea and the soft outline of the horizon. Being able to see all around makes me feel less vulnerable. So much better than swirling around in a black hole during new moon.

Recently we’ve been losing a lure every day so the fish are biting but we’re not noticing. With this choppy water its difficult to see when a fish is caught so Steve has devised an alarm. He’s attached an extension to the fishing line with a nut tied to it. Not the peanut type of nut but metal nut and bolt type. The idea is when a fish tugs on the line, the extension drops and the nut hitting the deck makes noise. We are hopeful!

We’ve hit another major milestone. 1001, 1000, 999. Yeah! We have less than a thousand miles to go and counting down in three digits. We’re beginning to get very excited about land fall. I’m already dreaming of a gentle rocking anchorage, a purring washing machine and a large bottle of wine.