Yesterday we did 162M/24H mostly in rugged conditions, today more rugged seas and heavy winds which abruptly died out and left us in our own private doldrums. Out of electricity we started the engine and finally... the noise is with us since 1600 and the sea is still flat at 2100. After a day south out of the intense traffic, we are headed back into it tonight, for the moment I have 20 ships on my screen 5 of which present a possible danger - this will be a night at the chart table. We had a fabulous 4 hours of beating into heavy seas this morning. Racing up the mountains and surfing down the back sides on Naomi’s perfect flank. We each showed Juha our own particular body dances at the wheel - bend your knees man ! ... complete with all the sexual analogies. Apart from being an incredible adventure, this trip has had an amazing number of fabulous days of sailing. Days with perfect conditions in wild light, under dramatic skys, adjusting the sails to perfection, changing to and from the kite, pushing for that extra 0.25 kt.. The whole sensorial experience with the boat the sea ones own body... combined in perfect harmony with the very technical dimension of instruments, materials. What has been strange is that we have been doing this day after day for a month without getting tired of it... one long orgasmic experience... (complete with fixing the toilet, mopping up engine oil, doing the dishes, washing one’s dirty underwear). Last night at around 0300 I got came out of the main hatch to ask Esa a question and got hit in the jaw by the main sail traveler as it flow across in an accidental gybe, I was thrown down the hatch into pile in the galley. I came away with fat lips and a bruised hand but the accident gave the crew a fright. The crew stuffed me into bed with an aspirin for a couple of hours, took over tracking the cargos as well as standing watch, I was back at it by 0600 and had forgotten about the incident this morning. The lesson is you can’t be too careful, this is a dangerous place for the main sheet, the gybe is about the most frequent accident on sail boats and I had to give the crew a crash course in AIS tracking with a cold beer can over my lips and hand - it is stupid to not have done it before now (I drank the beer with the aspirin)
