SEA GEM LOG
January 11, 2000
COOKING CHORES
Having Sandra aboard has livened up this leg of our trip.
We have also had excellent weather with steady winds. This
is our third straight day of flying our newly augmented MPS sail
or Jenniker. We wouldn't have taken it in to Rolly Tasker
Sailmakers if we hadn't had so much ribbing from Don Babson, from
Que Sera, Sera, about having a wimpy undersized sail for
our boat. When, Ket, the sail designer added
the panel, he increased the performance of the sail immeasurably.
Adding the big S G logo has added a little pizzazz. We have
been making great time and the ride has been smooth with the wind
from our aft quarter. The sea is moderate and it has made
for a lot more rest and reading than usual. The decision to
have the sail augmented was a good one and we appreciate Don's joshing
or we never would have had it done.
Sandra and I are sharing the cooking chores and she is doing most of the cleanup. I am always a little apprehensive with a new crew member coming aboard as to how things will
work out but Sandra's presence has been a lot of fun. She has an Aussie sense of humor and thinks we "talk funny" which she is very good at imitating.
Sandra has lived aboard boats before and when she met us at a restaurant in Phuket Town with her gear it became evident. She had a small bag and a back pack. I asked if there was more and she answered,
"No, this is all." She is an experienced
traveler and has seen a lot of the world for one so young.
(She is twenty three.) *See
Sandra's picture and bio in our Crew List for further details
on this very interesting young woman.
Early morning of January 10, Charlie hooked and landed a large Wahoo. The fish weighed
about 20-25 lbs. and provided the most beautiful supply of fillets. We have relished having fresh Wahoo two days in a row and have already frozen some for later. We are still trolling
but, so far, that is the only fish we have caught for some time. The water here is beautiful, clear and that deep navy blue that we have missed through much of our trip.
Our meals have been much better due to Sandra's influence, more vegetables fewer desserts. She truly eats a healthy diet and drinks a lot of water, no colas, no coffee or tea. The only
thing she has not sold us on is the vegemite. I think you really have to have been born in the UK or Australia to eat that stuff.
We've watched a lot of videos, read a lot and napped during the day in order to stand our night watches. We see a few ships on radar, (which is working like a champ) and stay in contact with the
fleet twice a day on single side band. We have contact with the Immarsat C for brief e-mail messages and other than that we are a self contained unit plying our way through a strange
ocean, headed toward the exotic land of Sri Lanka(Ceylon). We always look forward to seeing a new place and have had many reports of Sri Lanka being very lovely. From now
until we reach the Mediterranean we will be in places steeped with warnings. Until we get there we will not know how valid these cautions are. Until later from the Sea Gem about two
hundred and fifty miles from Sri Lanka, in the Indian Ocean. . . |
