0745 Position: 00* 00 126* 42’ W Confidence and her Crew have crossed the Equator.
Sorry this is not clearer. Too rolly.
There was a lot of excitement as we tried to record the event, take pictures, open up Champagne and throw the Message in a Bottle overboard. Not all went as planned but we did not care. The Admiral did not check to ensure that the Go Pro was actually charged - I guess David had turned the inventor off and forgot to tell me. I just assumed that the light was off because it was charged. Oh well. We did get some video coverage from Armon’s camera. I had a difficult time getting my iPad to take a focus photo of theGPS screen due to the sea conditions. If you squint you can see the 00* 00. The champagne was opened without any difficulty an of course Neptune got the first pour! We must keep those Gods happy.
Then we made a toast and the Captain officially congratulated us as we graduated from polliwogs to shellbacks - the term given to anyone sailing across the Equator for the first time.
Then the Message in a Bottle was thrown overboard.
My brother Paul gave this to me - a gimmick put out by Google. When I get into Wifi country I will register the location of discard. If anyone should come across the bottle they can go on Google M aps and enter the location where they found it. Then they can send a new message if they want and return it to the sea. I also put my email address in the message - wonder if we will ever hear anything back?
Now it is time for a celebratory breakfast. How does Eggs Benedict with wild Alaska Sockeye Salmon sound? The salmon was caught and processed by a guest at the hotel in Barra. He was so impressed with what we were doing and had some salmon that he had brought down with him that he gave it to us for a parting gift. It went well with the Champagne and Guava juice.
We are now on the downside of our crossing. Crosby, Stills and Nash are singing “Southern Cross” and we are three very happy sailors. Time to sit back and enjoy the ride The winds are from the SE and are speed is 5.2 knots. Does it get any better than this?
Clear blue skies again with scattered cumulus on the horizon.
1200 Noon Position: 00* 15’ S and 127* 4’ What
Seas have a 2 foot chop with a 4 foot swell from the south
Winds are 10 - 12 knots
Speed is 5.7 knots
Distance Travelled in 24 Hours: 90 nm (remember we slowed down on purpose)
Total Distance Travelled to Date: 1874 nm
Two squalls coming up from the southeast. So off we go - to do the squall dance. Port holes are closed. Rain gear is put on.
Sails did not need reducing. Wait! Wait! Wait!
Nada! One went ahead of us and one went behind us. My rain gear usually means my bathing suit - waiting for that fresh water shower but it was not to be.
1300: Armon is up and coffee is on. I decided to give the boys a break and did up the dishes. I was on a roll so decided to make preparations for dinner. The seas were relatively calm so I gave the boys some options. They opted for macaroni and cheese and Oscar Meyer Gourmet Hotdogs. But remember - I do not have an oven. So How am I going that crunchy topping. Well I do not think that I will bother telling you as it was my first big bust of the trip. I mean - I have been making all these gourmet dinners and this is the one that I messed up with. The boys were polite and ate theirs, said the hot dogs were good but the left overs went overboard. The main reason I think was actually due to the noodles. They were gluten free and I think a bit old - like rancid old! Something to think about when you are buying ships stores. You can buy rice and pasta just about anywhere in the world so you do not need to buy a 3 year supply of the stuff. Things can get pretty toasty on the boat when you are in these warm climates - add high humidity to that - well things just do no keep as well.
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