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