Day 26: Water is life

Besides the obvious reasons, I am glad I am not allergic to penicillin. Otherwise, I would have to toss all this biltong away.

I also found a packet of biscuits. What a bonus. I have terrible difficulty rationing myself to one biscuit a day. My problem is once I open a packet, I have to finish it. It is an all-or-nothing kind of thing for me. On top of that, not doing the Keto diet, all this sugar has flicked a switch in my brain.

Standing up
Hi, my name is Richard, and I am an addict. I am addicted to sugar! 🍭🍬
I guess that’s step 1- admitting it🥴

I don’t have chocolate on board because I knew it would melt in this heat. I did, however, bring Fizzers sweets; they have suffered from the heat and become one sticky mess. Practically impossible to eat.

Today started with trade winds increasing to 15kn, gusting 20kn. With each paddling shift, it got increasingly lumpy and wetter. Those pesky side chops that slop across the cockpit. They are sneaky buggers. You never really can tell if it’s going to jump on your lap or not.

In the late afternoon, my left forearm started to get a “forearm pump”. I guess it’s from holding the paddle too tight in the lumpy conditions. I focused on opening the fingers of the top hand after each stroke. It seemed to ease the forearm.

Another daily routine is making fresh water. I produce between 6 and 12 litres daily, depending on how much I have drunk or washed. The watermaker is in the first locker under the bunk. It sucks water from a pipe at the bottom of the keel, 1.2m deep. This is to ensure no air bubbles can be sucked into the system. It then goes through a pre-filter of 5 microns to remove any large particles or sea life. It then forces the salt water over a membrane that has holes so small only pure water can get through. The salt and everything else are pumped back into the ocean. It makes fresh water at a 10:1 ratio; at best, I am getting 5L an hour.

 

Co-ordinates: -20.928430° latitude -4.719450° longitude

Breakfast: yoghurt and nuts

Food: curry chicken and rice

Junk: biltong, jungle Oates bars

Sea life: nothing new