Day 24 Rollin’ in the Deep 9/25/13

Position: 12 02  N, 148 24 W @17:00 UTC

The morning’s Grib files look good and we’ll keep this wind all day along with our 2.2  metre swell. This is all very good news. We’ll keep our fingers crossed, and keep WW II “rollin the deep”. She has her skirt up,  and tearing across the dance floor at  7.8 knots! NZ here we come!

It is a new day and what better way to start the day than cleaning the galley. It got a real work-over, polished the stove as well. Then came the eggs! It seems some of those little chicks have become like little bombers! Remember the dance hall scene here. On deck is the guy with the fire hose trying to knock me over, down below it’s the punk rocker in his souped-up Chevy equipped with the hydraulic wheel elevators connected to rap music so as the car goes down the road it gyrates to the music. Picture this – I’m trying to sort out the eggs as this guy is watching me and laughing his head off trying to make me drop the eggs.  

It took half an hour at the sink washing each egg and placing it in a separate container as the punk rocker played his tunes all the while trying to knock one of those eggs out of my hand. I washed the old smelly container and dried it out before putting the good eggs back in their fresh carton. Much to my surprise I didn’t lose one egg.  Glenn: 1, Punk Rocker: 0

This all happened because I wanted pancakes and eggs for breakfast. I started to fry the eggs after I had made the batter for the pancakes. To make absolutely sure the egg I chose was going to be OK, I dutifully broke it in a separate container and let it pass the nose test. Four eggs later, the menu changed to pancakes only. I’ll try the eggs another day.

Wandering Albatross

 A group of children in a daycare in the Lower Mainland are curious about sea life in the open ocean. Their teacher writes:  

“We enjoy your trip and wish you well. How much sea life do you see, and what do you see? Thank you and be safe!”

Glenn writes: Hello children. Thank you for your questions and for visiting our blog. You asked about what kinds of wildlife I can see out here in the ocean from my sailboat. Well, there are some very curious and beautiful birds. The largest is the great Wandering Albatross that glides over the waves with its huge wing span of more the 2.5 metres. There are the small and delicate Storm Petrels, about the size of a small pigeon, that flit and dance across the tops of waves looking for food. There are beautiful bright white Tropic Birds with their long thin tails. I have seen Pelicans, Brown Boobys,  and of course Seagulls. 

On the ocean, I’ve seen Right Whales, Dolfin, and Flying Fish which sometimes land on the deck of my boat. There are beautifully coloured Mahi Mahi and Tuna.  And at night when it’s dark, I can see millions of tiny Plankton that light up the sea in flashes as I sail through them. 

So you can see that the ocean is very much alive – above the water, on the surface, and below the surface, if you look.  
Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Heading: 208 true Boat Speed: 6.5 knots Wind: NE 10 – 15 knots Swell:2.2 m Cloud:60% Bar:1011Temp 28 C Miles in last 24 hrs:189