Day 23: A day stuck in the middle of the high-pressure system
Today was a hot slow day with headwinds. Why are there headwinds? I guess that’s what variable conditions mean. Router Rob indicates later in the week; conditions will improve.
Unlike yesterday I don’t think I will crack 50km well, shy of the 100km goal. I obviously can’t have too many days like this. 😐
This morning I found a squid that had come aboard last night and was hiding under the EPIRB. He did not survive the encounter.
I much prefer to find these than flying fish. I rinsed out all of the black ink. Cut the tentacles off. Cut the head off and gave that back to the ocean. I split the tube down in the middle and cleaned the inside.
Popped a pot on the stove with some oil. Cut the fillet into bite-size pieces and deep-fried everything for only a few minutes so it would not turn into leather. Oh boy, what a lekker little treat to start the day.
Later in the day, I saw something brightly coloured floating in the water a little way off to the port side. A brief “maybe it’s the bucket I lost last year” foolish thought, but nevertheless, I turned to find out what this thing may be.
Definitely not my red bucket, but it was an orange Tupperware lid. On top of the lid, I could see a crab 🦀 and swimming underneath was a little fish 🐠 who promptly swam under Osiyeza for better cover. Lifting the lid out of the water, I spotted another little crab.
It’s quite extraordinary how crab eggs/babies float about the ocean and eventually find something to latch onto, much like the barnacles that are setting up shop under Osiyeza. By the look of it, the lid had not been at sea all that long. I set it adrift again. I am sure you can forgive me for leaving the rubbish in the ocean.
Not sure what happened to the little fish because he was not under Osiyeza when I took a goof later on. I also managed to scrap off the attached barnacles.
Maybe the little fish was eaten by a big fish. Today I had my first visitors. Two Dorado fish 🎏 have come to follow along. They mainly stayed near the rudder and, now and then, would do a circuit around Osi, which would repeat for most of the day.
I jumped in again to try and get some footage, but I think it’s too soon in the relationship, and they may be a bit shy.
They also gave me great entertainment by jumping 5 feet in the air and slamming into the water on their sides. I guess this is to get rid of parasites rather than to show off to me, or perhaps indigestion from the chewed biltong I fed them. 😬
They may also be why the squid 🦑 jumped onto the deck last night.
As the sun set, I came upon a 20l plastic detergent drum. It had a few big barnacles, a couple of crabs hanging on, and the compulsory little fish swimming underneath.
That pretty much sums up my slowest day at sea.
Co-ordinates: -21.206200° lat -1.613700° long
Breakfast: deep-fried calamari
Food: curry chicken and couscous
Junk: popcorn and biltong
Sea life: 🦀 x4, little 🐠 x 2, Dorado 🐟 x2
