Lionheart 6

DAMN those milk cartons. I spent an unpleasant afternoon scrubbing a cupboard that was floating in curdled milk. Some had started bulging when water got through the seams and finally burst. Unfortunately this must have happened a few days ago and if only I noticed, I wouldn't have needed the peg. To make matters worse my nose is sunburnt and as a result is even more tender. I've been able to get on to my old solo friend, Peter, who has flown past me since we were last in contact at the Falklands and is now above the Azores. He has been sailing non-stop since New Zealand and is only 10 days away from finishing in the UK. This of course means that I've only a few days left to chat with him. Two days ago I crossed the equator into the northern hemisphere, but my plan to observe the Coriolis force by seeing if a cup of water would drain the opposite way when I crossed the equator will have to wait. It was during the middle of the night and I didn't feel like getting up to fetch a bucket of water. I will make sure I don't miss it when I cross back into the southern hemisphere after rounding half way. I've been having a pretty good run through the Doldrums compared with the experience of others, however it has still been extremely frustrating just bobbing around as the wind always dies. I got a question from Brad, at Mirboo North Secondary, and he wanted to know what will happen to Lionheart when the voyage is over. Well, she is such a fantastic boat and the only one I would want to have of her size. However, I'm already planning the next trip which will require a larger vessel and so I'll have to part with her a little time after I return. Last Sunday the Melbourne to Osaka race left from Portsea and with them went my mate Vinny on his yacht Vision Quest.

He is sailing with one other person, but what is amazing is that Vinny is confined to a wheelchair and his crewmate Graham is missing a leg. If you think that is determination then wait until you hear about Vinny's ultimate goal which he has been working at for more than eight years - a solo non-stop circumnavigation like myself. His progress with sponsors is coming along and I can't wait for the day he returns and his book comes out so I can learn a few tricks about perseverance. I am experiencing a rather annoying occurrence with my guitar. The second string keeps breaking in exactly the same position after only a couple of days. I've tried oiling them to keep the salt off but nothing seems to work. I've got six or seven spare sets left - this could be a real disaster is things keep going the way they are. I'm going to have to monitor the situation closely. I'll keep you posted. The shipping is certainly picking up and I've seen ships at night for the past five days. This is because I am on a major shipping lane from the US to Brazil. Most of them I've called on the VHF haven't spoken English so I don't usually try calling them any more. Hopefully this week I'll be much faster as I get into the NE trade winds.

20.04.99

I AM DEFINITELY out of the Doldrums and into the North-east Trade Winds. I know this because if I run my finger along the windward side of the rigging, I'm left with a deep-red patch of fine grit which has been carried by the trades from the Sahara. Along with the sand is an increase of flying fish which are landing on the boat. If I don't hear the slight thud and flicking when one gets stranded during mid-flight then I can smell the scales of fresh fish as it tries desperately to get back to its old environment. The other night I could smell one of our visitors in the cockpit area, but several minutes with a torch failed to find the hitchhiker. It wasn't until the morning when another one landed in the cockpit that I saw it slip down the gap beside the life raft, and in my rescue attempt I discovered the mystery one from the previous night. Another guitar string broke, the same one, and so I'm getting into the practice of washing my hands of any salt before I open the case. I've found that time passes more quickly if I'm kept occupied by an activity, which in turn makes me enjoy everything much more. However, I feel so lethargic and sedated that it's so hard to get motivated into the exact thing which will bring me out of this state. It also doesn't help when you know that home is in the opposite direction to where you are going. Once I'm around the Azores and on my way home via the shortest route possible, I hope it will be better. I'm out of the main shipping lanes now and haven't seen any other vessel for more than a week. Nor have I seen any birdlife - just flying fish and the odd man-of-war jellyfish. I'm hanging out to see the Pole star now that I'm in the Northern Hemisphere. This star is quite important to a celestial navigator because it is almost right over the Pole, which means you can get your exact latitude by observing its angle above the horizon.

27.04.99

MY great run has continued all this week and I've been averaging 140 nautical miles a day. But lack of wind may hamper my goal of making the halfway point of my trip by the end of the week. My weather adviser, Roger, has had to take me in a round-a-bout way to get to the Azores because of a high pressure system which sits nearly on top of them. I was hoping to see my family at the Azores Islands in a little over a week, but because of the high pressure system it could be another two weeks. This system hardly moves . . . until I'm in the vicinity. After weeks of being stationary, the high has decided to ridge out in front of my path and hamper the momentum which was building up. Today has been the first day of light winds and I hate it. I don't mind so much slowing down but I despise the sound of the sails back winding and sending a shudder through the rig. It is like sandpaper on my nerves. I know that each time I hear the crack and the stays vibrate that it is more stress on the rig and more chance of the whole mast coming down in a time of chaos. I have finally spotted the Pole Star. I double checked that it really was the one by measuring its angle to the horizon and comparing it with our latitude according to the global positioning system. They came up close enough, so I was satisfied. I had a shock a couple of nights ago when I spotted the first ship since before the equator. I got up after an hour's sleep and stepped up the companion way steps when I saw, to my horror, a huge tanker with all its lights blazing only a couple of hundred meters behind my boat. It was heading at right angles to my course and I hate to think what would have happened if it hadn't been a full moon to light up my sails because I have a feeling he dodged me. I was too scared to turn on the radio in case he was there abusing me for not keeping a better watch. I swore from then on that the radar would be keeping watch full-time while I was in any part of this busy Atlantic.

I received a question from Amy Ginsburg from Mount Scopus Primary School. Amy was wondering what I sleep on and if it is a proper bed. I sleep on a seat which runs along the starboard side of Lionheart.

It's about a metre wide and I have a sheet which comes from under the cushion and ties to the roof to hold me in so that when Lionheart rolls, I don't end up on the floor.

04.05.99

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