Day 16: I take the plunge

/in /by
🏊‍♂ I TAKE THE PLUNGE 🏊‍♂
 
One more chilled day before the next swath of South Easterly winds sweeps over my position. Tomorrow it will be gusting 20 knots and 100km plus days on the chart. Miles paddled do not count for everything I am learning.
 
These calm, slow days are not to be sneered at. The paddling effort is much the same, just different speeds. The bonus is that the calm day is far less strenuous on my lower back. The big side-to-side rolling really grinds my poor old degenerative spine. During the night, my spine takes great pleasure in reminding me that it’s not a happy camper. 💊
 
Another bonus of the calmer conditions is I can jump into the water and fight off big scary fish 🦈
I pulled out my diving mask and strapped a 360° video camera to my chest. Knife between the teeth I ……
Sorry got carried away.
 
After switching the camera on, I tentatively slid over the side and started checking out Osiyeza’s bottom.
Not a fish in sight in the crystal clear water. It was a pleasant 22°. I moved to the stern to inspect the rudder, which was in perfect condition.
Then I swam forward to look over the keel and my watermaker inlet pipe at the bottom leading edge. Also perfect.

360° photo of Rich swimming under Osiyeza

 
Because I modified the keel and rudder, I wanted to paint an antifoul coating to stop marine life from growing and slowing me down. I bought the smallest, cheapest tin I could find, but it was only available in red hence the keel and rudder are red, and the rest of Osiyeza is still light blue. I spotted a few barnacles attempting to attach themselves here and there, but they will be scrapped off when I swim.
 
The 360° camera’s stitching did not work so well underwater. One side of my body looks different from the other. 😀 Maybe it does in real life; I just can’t see it.

360° photo of Rich swimming under Osiyeza

 
Anyway, what I am trying to convey from all you have just read is that I went for a swim today. 👍 💦
 
I have mentioned before about the 3L bladders that I use to store water in. I have 10 of them filled with tap water (chlorinated) and stored in the bottom of the forward hatch (no sunlight.) This is my emergency water supply. Should not grow algae see ()
 
I keep two more under the dashboard and for daily use. Pretty much use 6L a day.
They are so easy to use. I open the clip. Put the pipe where I want the water to go and push my foot down on the bladder. As if by magic, water flows out of the pipe. No fixed plumbing is required.
 
Yesterday I almost popped one of the bladders. I forgot to check it, and the watermaker had blown it to an impressive size. A giant bloated tick sticks in my mind, although some comments suggest more like a breast augmentation device.
Maybe for Dolly Parton!
Jeepers, how uncomfortable.
Anyway, I digress…

Giant tick

Empty tick

I now use my wall clock/timer thing set to 34min, so when it beeps, I have a fully satisfied tick and can switch the filling tube to the hungry one.
Sometimes I think I am too clever for my own good. 😉
 
The audiobook FEAR by Ranulph Fiennes that I started listening to came to an abrupt halt. Only 35min had downloaded at home. 😖
Need to check if the other audiobooks have suffered the same fate.🤞
 
That “watertight” compartment that houses the solar cables is still nagging me. How to get the water out?
I found a piece of batten that I was going to use for a cockpit cover. The batten would be used to push it up and off my legs. In the end, I decided not to make one, but the piece of batton was still in the cockpit netting. Bonus. I have an idea.
 
I skewered and tied a sponge to the batten’s end, threaded it through the inspection hatch, and pushed it as far back as I could. A few minutes later, I pulled it out. Just a little bit of water was collected.
I did this about 10 times, and slowly the evidence indicated that there was not a lot of water in there, and I got out maybe 500ml. Feeling less concerned about this issue.
 
Last night brought low dark clouds and, along with them light rain patches.
It rained on and off all night.
 
Co-ordinates: -21.816480°, 4.430000° 
Breakfast: yoghurt & nuts
Food: Beef lasagne with noodles
And all the regular snacks.
Bird: Procelliaria Petrel again, but the Spectacled one this time

Day 15: Pong Gone

/in /by
Day 15: 🈴 Pong Gone 🈴
 
Manuel! Where are you?
MANUEL 📣
 
I got no response from the housekeeper. He really is not very good at his job
 
Not long after that outburst, Patriot Pete sheepishly appeared from the shadows and quietly said to me, “Hypothetically speaking, what if Manuel did not come along on this trip?”
 
“WHAT! WHY NOT?” I demanded.
 
“He might, as a possibility, found new employment at, say, an English Country Inn,” mumbled Patriot Pete.
 
“Hypothetically speaking, that would be good riddance; there’s something faulty with that fella anyway and best luck to his new employer. Goodness knows he’s going to need it.”
Que!
 
After calming down, I took an executive decision. I will find the source of the pong on board the good ship Osiyeza.
 
Now, if you have ever seen my profile, you will know why I feel confident in tracking down this particularly offensive odour.👃
 
It did not take me too long to identify the source, the how and the why.
 
During my years of research for this crossing, I soon realised that only a handful had completed such a kayak adventure, and even less information was available about the technical aspects of their crafts.
 
The next best for info was the ocean rowing frat, in which the majority take part in the race from the Canaries to the Caribbean starting in December each year. Yip, a bunch, are doing the North Atlantic right now.
 
In one of their blogs, a rower talked about his feet being constantly wet in the cabin. The sole of his cabin never dried, and he wished he had “duckboards” to keep his feet above the moisture.
 
Advice heeded. To prevent myself from having the same issue, I got a rubber door mat and cut it to fit on my cabin sole. It does a good job of keeping my feed out of the moisture and muck. Let me just say there is an unimaginable amount of muck.
 
It’s been 15 days, and that mat has been constantly damp underneath. I have a dedicated shami cloth to wipe dry under the mat should I spill water or a wave sloshes inside, or heaven forbid the pool falls over with the kid inside 😖. (How many of you did not realise it’s an indoor pool?)
 
The mat also catches all the spilt food, hair and what looks like dust but is actually my skin. The build-up of all this in the mat is quite disturbing and is the source of the pong.
 
So today became a wash day.
Cabin sole, rubber mat, pants, top and myself. All got a good scrubbing. It dried nicely and quickly in the warm sun.
 
Pong gone!
(It sounds like a place in the Far East 😉)
 
Today’s paddling has been more like I expected it to be. Light/medium winds. Flattish ocean with small rolling swells. Plodding along between 4-5km/hr heading due West. I suspect I have a friendly current with me as well.
 
I have a human interest question for you, so please pop your answer into the comments section below.
 
QUESTION:
IF you were in my place, how many days in a row would YOU be OK wearing the same pair of underpants for before washing/changing them❓
 
Sub note:- you get to wash your privates every day.
 
I will post real-world results in the next blog.
 
PS the folliculitis/rash on my rear has cleared up nicely. Thanks for asking.😉
 
Co-ordinates: -21.816500° Lon 5.469520
Breakfast: yoghurt & nuts
Food: butternut soup with couscous
Droewors, biltong, TV bar, jungle oats bar, freeze-dried cheese griller.
Bird: White-chinned Procelliaria Petrel
Money raised for Operation Smile: R161,479
No of smiles changed: 29

Day 14: First paddle of the year

/in /by
2023 started off grey and gloomy, but by late morning, it was full sunshine, only to be overcast for the afternoon.
The sun is good for charging the batteries but not so good for me, who hates the heat. I can’t understand how some people can just lie “somer so” under the sun and enjoy it.
 
After almost two weeks of strong South winds, we have been propelled North at an incredible pace. The flip side of this is I am now getting too far North and not enough West.
 
If I continue with the current direction, I may miss the Easterly trade winds and end up north of St Helena Island. My original route should put me at least 200km south of the Island.
 
The next objective is to get as much West in as possible.
The forecast is for the conditions to go more East in the evening, and I found a little swell that, who knows where it comes from, is moving West and gives us a good old shove every now and then.
I sleep with my head forward. I don’t sleep feet forward as it’s not possible for me to get in or out of my bunk when the hatch is closed. There is just not enough room for a six-foot-two fella to turn around and go feet forward. It may also have something to do with my lack of flexibility. Something about age!
 
It’s a constant struggle for me in the limited space, particularly when I lie in my bunk.
 
One issue is when I lie on my back, my elbows are next to me, and there is zero wiggle room. My arms are pressed against my side. No room to move the elbows out sideways. When it’s warm and clammy, everything just sticks together. 😒 I can’t lie face down as there is no room for the elbows out to the side. I am usually a side sleeper, but the shoulder gets so hammered by all the constant motion.
 
The other issue that I thought would not affect me at all is claustrophobia. Never!
The first time was on an overnight sea trial when I suddenly needed to get out. How can I describe it?
A feeling of “panic” or “urgency”, perhaps.
All I wanted to do was to get out, open the hatch and stand up.
 
I dismissed this as a one-time thing, but it has caught me off guard twice so far. The “panic” is over as soon as I stand up. Very bizarre stuff.
 
I am conscious not to let issues like these become bigger than they need to be. I try to understand the issue and find a solution; if no solution presents itself, I make a mental plan to deal with it.
If you leave it, it will wear you down.
#HTFU
 
Today I fetched week two’s food bag. It has taken me two weeks to finish off the first bag. Do I have too much food, or am I not eating enough?

1 week food bag

2 weeks of rubbish. Nothing goe overboard other than the kid and paper.

Co-ordinates: -21.789470° lat 6.371320°
Breakfast: yoghurt, nuts & coffee
Food: Tuscan chicken with noodles
TV bar and a packet of Nik Naks
More Leache’s Storm Petrels about

Day 13: Happy New Year

/in /by
Day 13
 
🎆HAPPY NEW YEAR🎆
🎆 FELIZ ANO NOVO 🎆
 
The end of the year that was 2022.
Not exactly a year I would request a do-over. Happy to leave it behind and look forward to what 2023 has in store.
 
I smelt it again this morning.
Every now and then, I get this whiff of a rather unpleasant smell.
No, it’s not a bottom burp. Obviously, I know when those are coming!
 
Come to think of it, I have not seen the housekeeper, Manuel, for a while. I’ll leave a note for him to find and eradicate the offending old sock odour.
 
Goodness, man, does he not know it’s New Year’s Eve? Everything must be perfect.
Que?
 
Last year’s new year’s party was good fun even though it was a dry night. We all had a bundle of fun.
 
This year’s party went off. No longer was Osiyeza a dry boat, but a 100ml of “the good stuff” had been snuck in on board by my beautiful wife, Judy. Pity, she could not make the party.
 
One sip of that Soet Wyn, and there was no holding me back.
 
Nurse Honeydew promised to look after me in the morning should I need any hangover assistance or anything else. She’s very kind for a lady with so much facial hair.

Nurse Honeydew

 
I kept our guests entertained until midnight, and can you believe the aft solar panels made for an exceptional dance floor?
 
We took turns dancing with nurse Honeydew. 💃🕺She sure had the “Moves Like Jagger”.
I did have to ask nurse Honeydew to take her high heels off lest they scuff the dance floor.
 
I suspect young Tighthead has a thing for the nurse. He seemed to get every second dance with her. Maybe they would make a cute couple.

Young Tighthead

 
Nurse Honeydew even got Patriot Pete to dance. He has been in such a foul mood since our defeat against Australia this week. Patriot Pete pulled out all his moves, but I am not sure they worked on the dance floor.

Patriot Pete

 
They ranged from holding his hand wide apart and turning around, throwing both arms high into the air, the silly one-arm swing back and forth across the chest, or the one that upset everyone the most was the one hand, one finger pointing in your face move ☝. I do terribly hope we can snatch a victory at the next game. It’s sad to see him suffer like this.
 
Nurse Honeydew did her best to teach us all the Samba. Yes, we live in the hope that we can make it to Brazil in time for Carnival. 🤞
 
We did not have any champagne to pop off at midnight, so I suggested shooting off a flare instead.
 
That’s what you do at midnight?
 
Young Tighthead was egging me on, but old man Greylocks gave us a stern talking to about the dangers not only for us but should someone see the flare, they would want to come and join us, and there really isn’t enough room for more guests. He had a valid point.

Old man Greylocks

 
Bugeyes had helped himself to a head scarf and sat quietly in the background, sipping his mineral-free water and trying to smoke a permanent marker. He’s new to the group and does not warm up as easily as Nurse Honeydew.

Bugeyes

 
It was a stellar evening, and I hope you had as much fun as we did. 
 
Xxx