Day 86 – Doris’ Laws
Out on the Pacific we find that life on board Doris is governed by a number of annoying but reliably true laws. The things that seem set to annoy you or make life difficult but you can’t help but laugh at how true they are. Inspired by Murphy’s Law here are Doris’ Laws.
– If you are struggling to hold a good course over ground for a whole session it will suddenly get much easier in the final 10 mins just in time for the next pair to have a good session.
– If you get excited about fast progress in the right direction be prepared for poor currents and adverse winds to turn up.
– If you write in a blog that we are going fast and in the right direction, by the time the blog is posted the wind and currents will have changed.
– If you turn on the camera to get some good footage of the big waves crashing over our heads the seas will calm down. When you turn the camera off because you aren’t getting any exciting footage it takes only 1 minute after returning to your rowing position before one or both rowers will receive an air dump.
– Regardless of the conditions, in the last 10 minutes of any session you will get splashed. We call this the 10 minute danger zone.
– On a hot day rain clouds will appear all around you but Doris will pass through the middle without a raindrop landing on her deck. On a cold day or at night a single rain cloud on the horizon will always head straight for the pink boat.
– If you plan a social, time to take video footage or sponsor photos as a team because conditions are good, by the time the planned hour approaches the wind will pick up, the waves will splash or the rain will come.
– She who likes the cold water least will get the most waves to the head (usually me!).
– The closer you get to your destination, the slower time will pass.
– If you wash something which you need to be dry by night time to wear on the oars then as soon as you hang it to dry on the grab rails either rain clouds will appear or the sea will get splashy.
– If at the end of a splashy shift you rinse yourself off with fresh water before entering the cabin a wave will catch you between your rowing position and the hatch.
UPDATE: We are still battling against strong south easterly winds and struggling to make any progress South. We are trying to slow our progress west as much as possible to prevent overshooting Samoa. Another soggy night has passed. The early night shifts aren’t so bad with the light of the moon allowing you to see the approaching waves but once the moon sets there is no warning as walls of water wipe out the deck with no warning. Last night both LP and myself got wiped off our seats by big deck washing waves and ended the shift feeling like we’d been playing a rugby match. With similar conditions in the forecast for the next 10 days it looks like our dry land dreams will have to wait a little longer. So near and yet so far! However we do have a new friend who has been following us for the last few days. A little dark fish with white lips and some flappy fins who we have called Harvey has been swimming alongside our oars.