The Sealorn Sailor…
We found another dried-up squid baked to a leather in the lifeline netting this morning. If we could only discover them right when they leap onto the boat, they’d make good calamari… Later in the afternoon we hooked a good size Mahimahi on our fishing line but it shook itself off as we were pulling it in. It struck the line while the boat speed was up to about 7.5 knots. We trail a fishing line astern, fixed to a strong cleat every day during daylight hours. Hopefully we’ll get another strike soon so that we can come into St. Helena with a well-stocked freezer…
Another cloudy day today with several patches of drizzle, but the breeze held fair and we are really putting the miles behind us. We’ll have to slow down tomorrow so that we don’t arrive in the middle of the night–we may have to heave-to if the breeze holds up. I’m amazed at how steady and even it is, even through the squalls.
Looking out at all the waves today I had plenty of time to ponder the future and think about life after the world voyage. People always ask isn’t it scary and stressful out there on the ocean? Actually, being a shore-side wage earner is the thing that terrifies me the most! Being that this trip has pretty much ruined me for living any kind of mundane life on land, I’m sure my family will figure out ways of keeping that sea-spark alive, carrying it with us wherever we roam. I’ve seen it in the eyes of other sailors we’ve met in the mountains, the desert, etc. It’s a defiance of the norm, and a peace that comes from knowing wild places.
It’s the big count-down now that we are within 200 NM of St. Helena. These last few days are always the longest miles, filled with anticipation of landfall. We were visited by a few birds today–the tell-tale of land nearby. It looks as if we’ll get in on a Sunday morning, which means the government offices will be closed. No matter when you set off on a sea voyage, it seems like there’s an abnormally high probability that you’ll arrive on a Sunday! Hopefully we can get cleared in and make a trip to shore, otherwise we’ll just have to wait another day on the boat.
