Hit my rhythm on day five.
It happens to me every trip. I get a little emotional fade 24 hours in. I can usually shake it pretty quickly, but for some reason on this trip it took me until the fifth day to shake it.
We’ve got boatloads of “unknowns” on this one and the certainty of the length of this trip might have had something to do with it, but it wasn’t until today that I felt “full force” - but I do now.
We have faced a couple of challenges. You always do, but this boat and crew are so solid that they are just little things to overcome. We passed a boat yesterday that had a rigging failure of some kind and was headed back to Las Palmas. Proof that nothing is certain out here.
We are eating incredibly well. I mean… better than you can imagine. Last night’s dinner was roasted half chickens, fresh carrots with a honey glaze, and a nice salad with made on-the-spot yogurt dressing. We eat on real plates too! And they are really pretty, heavy plates with a smart silicone ring on the underside so they don’t slide, scratch or clank. It’s a nice touch. Tomorrow might be Iberian ham with pesto gnocchi. Yeah, that sounds pretty good.
At night, the waxing moon keeps us company. We chase Orion’s Belt down to the horizon in the west. We divide the night into four-hour watches that overlap. So, you do your first hour with the last watch, then two solo, and your last hour with the next watchman. It allows for good continuity of information, gives you time to reflect and enjoy the sailing alone, it also means you have a new person to chat with and that we all get plenty of sleep.
Our day watches are “open” and there’s lots of fishing (no catch YET), card games, and chatter. Some of the crew are even using this as their chance to get in shape. I did the first days workout and pulled a muscle in my back, so I’ve missed the burpee and push-up challenges the last couple of days, but hope to get back into gym time soon.
“Life is lovely on a raft” and we are living it up.
Safe Watch. kb out.