Skippers log #14
44 11s 54 50e at 16:40 GMT
The sunset was spectacular this evening after a little front passed by. It was so red. I filmed it both on video and digital still picture. The wind finally shifted into the SW and I am heading SE. I am going down another degree or so as the barometer is rising. Gwen went to Dublin (Ireland) not far from her home for the day. I presume to do some Christmas shopping. I am slowly starting to get into the Christmas mood. There is one Christmas gift that I would like. It would bring joy to one person, but sadness to another. When I was delivering my keynote presentations in the Netcare hospitals, I met a 17 year old youth who was waiting on a heart and a lung transplant. It had to be from the same donor. I wish him the transplant as his gift to life and hope that the donor had a good life. Out here on the Southern Ocean, I have come to really appreciate this gift called life. It is so fragile. There are some things in life that are worth having, and then there is stuff. Out here, there is very little stuff. Everything on board has a need and a place in the survival and advancement of my progress. The rewards are almost immediate. If I keep my boat together and not break gear, I live and advance. If not, I pay a price. Mankind has sometimes forgotten that survival is key to advancement. If that young man gets his heart and lung, he will not only survive, but he will cherish each day and make the most of his life. Is that not too much to ask? Are you cherishing each day, and making each hour count? We can't turn time back, but only learn from what has passed. Tomorrow will come, but today is the present we must live, with its storms and beautiful sunsets. Another description of the present, is the gift of today. Seize the day!
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Skippers log #15
45 37s 58 11e at 16:00 GMT
I got several messages from friends with ideas regarding my charging/alternator problem. Ike at Torenssen Marine contacted the alternator manufacturer, and I am waiting on Gwen to send me the information. I did open the engine box and found the fan belt a bit loose, so I tightened it, breaking a screw driver which I tried to use as a lever in the process. I cleaned the battery terminals as best as I could with sandpaper, but the meter for the output still read 15.2 volts. So I got out my digital meter and began testing individual batteries while charging and they are only reading 14.1 volts. So, I think it's a connection problem, but I am still working on the problem. The weather co-operated during the procedure. The wind has dropped down to between 7-9 knots, a very large swell (house size) is shaking us around, and it is bitterly is bitterly cold down here. I will have to run the heater tonight for a bit. One thing I like down here, it the reduced risk of being run down by a ship. Shipping doesn't venture this far down without a specific reason. There have been a lot of birds flying around, petrel and shearwaters, but I have not seen any dolphins yet, and since starting this race, have not seen a whale yet. One of the reasons I signed up for this adventure was the promise of great sea creatures. I did see a piece of kelp floating by. For dinner I had rice, tomato and mussels. I have not been much in the mood for cooking or eating big meals. Today is the end of the second week since leaving Cape Town, and I have just now settled down and starting to write again. I am now working on chapter 11. I am in need of a bath, but it's too cold to strip off. It will have to wait till after Tasmania, if I can stand myself till then.
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Skippers log #16
46 05s 61 54e at 16:40 GMT
Today was is my mothers birthday. The original name of this vessel, when Mark Schrader (Race Director) helped dedicate the boat, was named Stella-r, as Stella is the woman who was not only my mother, but was my teacher, both at school and at home. In my last two years of high school she taught me biology. But in the seventeen years that I lived at home, she taught me to dream, and to dream big and small. She taught me that knowledge would be the keys to the future, and so encouraged me to read, and helped me to become a life long learner. She is the greatest teacher that I know. Educated at the University of Cape Town, and at Syracuse, New York,(class of 1948) she has dedicated her life to youth and our gaining knowledge. Even now, at 75, she is still paving the way for youth. She is with the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, part of the educational center. Her love is botany, and she gets to play in one of the worlds finest gardens. Mom spent 43 years as a teacher and her students are now all over the world, even in the Southern Ocean. I would not be where I am today, if it was not for this woman. She was the first woman in my life, now having to share me with Gwen. Neither of these two influences ever asked me not to do what I do. I know they both worry each time I leave port to cross an ocean. But it is they who have given me the strength to sail the high seas. Gwen and I plan to open No Barriers schools in South Africa after this race. My success has all grown from little dreams to reality. Those dreams I compare to little acorns, and as a result of hard work and many other values, they have grown into my accomplishments, or my mighty oak trees. So a symbol from here forth for every No Barriers school, will be an oak tree, and so it is only fitting the first acorn should be planted by my mother, and as many acorns as we have institutions. As children, we must never forget what our mothers have done for us. Today, I celebrate three quarters of a century that my mother has been around, and recognize my mother for the gift of life she has given me, my sister, and so many students. Happy birthday, Mom.
