[password] rachel25
[position]36 12.900s 135 51.400w
[status] On passage to Valdivia, Chile from Auckland NZ.
MAJOR TOM TO GROUND CONTROL
Night watch 0000 to 0300. Bumping and crashing again, hard on the wind on starboard tack. She's trying hard to head east but only making 70degrees. Most of a wave just landed in the cockpit. Luckily I'm inside typing this.
I THINK MY SPACESHIP KNOWS THE WAY TO GO.
As days go yesterday was not too good. Massive flooding in Aberdeenshire. David Bowie no longer with us.
And on Ithaka, the beautiful, steady industrial whine of the wind generator replaced by the untethered swish, swishing of an unloaded propellor...... "freewheeling".
Lucas: "its gone open circuit".
He goes off into the aft locker. Disconnects the wires from the regulator and we both listen for an increase in propellor speed....no change.
Lucas: "its gone open circuit".
He shorts the wires together from the generator. We both listen hoping the load created by the direct short will slow the untethered demon.....no change......no connection. Bugger.
Both of us: "It's gone open circuit".
YOUR CIRCUITS DEAD THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG
Lucas starts talking about a "quiet day" when we can disconnect and remove the unit, with its pole, from its position on the top of the rear gantry. Hmmm. It'll have to be a very quiet day. I catch the tail fin of the unit with the boathook, catching it unawares when its looking the other way, and turn it sideways. The demonic swishing ceases, at rest, in peace, waiting for a very quiet day.
On the plus side ....well everything else really. Life's pretty good in the middle of the Pacific. The boat's holding together well.
FLOATING IN A TIN CAN. The crew are happy, seasickness a distant memory. What a privilege to be back here again after 38 years absence. And so nice to receive the comments on YIT and to speak to some of you on the SSB radio in the evening. Just amazing how far these radio waves go.
PLANET EARTH IS BLUE AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO
WITH APOLOGIES TO, AND IN MEMORY OF, DAVID BOWIE.
[speed] 6.5 kts
[heading] 075 true
[weather] Wind SE 20 knots. 1.0m waves. Sky 80% cloud. Baro 1020,
[END]