Skippers log#9
27 21N 53 46W @ 21:30GMT
The night passed uneventfully. I ate GW curry. Was it good!!? I had to practise self constrain from opening a second curry. Morning found me becalmed, a position I remained in for 4 hours. I tried setting the light spinaker, but it took me no where as there was no air moving at all. Doused it and sat waiting. I observed two one-foot long spotted fish playing in the boats shadow. They were narrow fish and did not look appetising at all. Their movements were slow. I spent the time becalmed writing an article for Soundings Magazine. The dead line was tomorrow, but why wait till then. I was supposed to have had a live radio interview yesterday, but our lines got crossed. We hoped to have it today, but again it did not happen. The phone has not rung once today. I wonder what is happening in the world. I am isolated with no newspapers, TV News or radio news. My world is only a 40 foot island, one ruler/worker, and visible from horizon to horizon with nothing but different shades of blue. The wind comes back from the SW at 10 kn and we are off again. Squall clouds build all afternoon and I manage to out run them. Oh, how lovely wont it be in a bigger faster boat sometime. Yes, I want, I need a competitive boat. But too, wouldn't it be great to have some of our No Barriers students out here to see this world, one so different from that ashore, where the rules even differ. Over the days I have watched a medical problem on my right toe develop. The middle toe and its right hand side partner is to close. the right toe developed a blister of some sorts and is raw. I fear that infection could set in, so I fire off an e-mail to race control to seek medical advice. Hours later Dr. Dan Carlin sends me a response, requesting a photo. Get that done and transmit the digital photo to Quokka sports. Dr. Dan gave me some instructions to follow to avoid infection, and what to look out for. I follow the instruction explicitly as I do not need the consequences of an infected wound which could lead to blood poisoning. I try to minimize my risks. The tropical depression Lisa is no longer a problem. Still, for the next 24 hours I will head slightly E of S.

*
Return to Pre-race log.
*
The next log