Jul 13

Written by:
7/13/2009 5:07 AM 

I took about an hours nap yesterday at noon, but the routine of my watch schedule and a sketchy anchorage prevented me from sleeping any longer. It was good though because I had the urge to get up and work. The boat got cleaned up, the dingy came off the deck, and Georgia and I went for a walk on a completely isolated and deserted Caribbean island, Cayo Vivorillo. Coconuts were everywhere and the island residents, a rookery of some sort, couldn't stop squawking at Georgia and I as we circled the island.

Back on the boat yesterday evening I made good on a threat I'd been making for a long time. I cooked a big pot of buttered popcorn and sat down on the couch to watch a movie. In a remote corner of the world and in a life that has been so extraordinary it is incredibly nice to simply sit and do something so blatantly normal.

I woke this morning crisp, clear, and ready to go. Oscar and Liz on s/v SOEL called it the sleep of death. It's the kind of sleep where you wake up in the exact same position you laid down in knowing you haven't moved all night. That's what I enjoyed last night. Now, typing over a huge plate of green squash, onion, and tuna with toast I am eager to start the next leg to Isla Provadencia. GRIB files and my own thumb in the air show the wind has shifted out of the ENE a few degrees. If I alter my course to run south of a reef system instead of North of it I might just be able to sail the next 70 miles I need to run off to the Southeast. That makes me happy.

So, after walking the dog, stowing the dingy, and toping up engine fluids I am off again. This leg is almost exactly another 200 miles. Let's see how long this one takes.

P.S. A 10 - 12 lb tuna is huge! I've been eating tuna every meal for going on three days now and still have one quarter of the fish left. It started out just getting seared in oil with salt and pepper, but very, very rare in the middle. With each meal it gets cooked a little more and now we are on fully cooked tuna. Still, the fresh meat smells wonderful and I can't wait for grilled tuna steaks with veggie rice tonight. I swear this tuna is still way more fresh than any sushi grade tuna i ate in Texas or New Mexico.