Leg 2, Day 60

Emma Mitchell By

Leg 2, Day 60

It is day 60 since we left Hawaii. Many of you might know that we had predicted that this leg of the journey would take us about 60 days and by that calculation we should be arriving into Samoa today. Sadly we are still around 900 miles away from Apia where we will make our next landfall and still trying to fight our way out of the doldrums. Naturally we have all been a little bit frustrated with our slow progress and cannot wait to get out of the westerly current and making haste towards our next stop.

Expecting that it would take us 60 days we packed our supplies accordingly along with an extra contingency of 6 days (10%) in case it took an extra few days. This means that we are beginning to run out of certain things. Although we have plenty of food on board to keep us well fed until the most negative prediction of our arrival because we packed in enough for two main meals per day and have only been eating one, we will be running out of breakfasts, deserts and snack packs in the next week. This means the sad day is imminent where we will be eating beef curry for breakfast. Fortunately all is not lost because yesterday in the midday heat I went into our front below deck hatch where our last remaining snack packs and some other treats were stashed. In there I discovered an extra chocolate supply we had forgotten about including a few packets of timtams, almond and peanut butters and some extra cereal bars and sweets. Bonus as it means we aren’t going to be totally deprived of treats from here to Samoa. From the snack packs I retrieved from the hatch I picked each of us as close to our perfect treats as I could find. Mine contained a chocolate chip cliff bar, a natures valley oats and honey bar, dried fruit containing mango, pineapple, apricots and cranberries, a large pack of Oreos, some chicken noodles, tuna, 2 starburst sweets and some fruit gummy snacks. It is funny how much food can change our mood on the boat. A good snack pack can keep you happy through the night when you have you favourite treat to keep you awake. Overcast or rainy days are ‘shepherds pie days’ where we eat this most stodgy and comforting of our freeze dried rations. On particularly hot and sunny days oriental chicken, probably the lightest meal is often the choice. In the aft cabin we have the condiment hatch (formerly the cinnamon hatch before we jettisoned the cinnamon in Hawaii) which contains ketchup, sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce to add flavour to our meals. I have been known to make a meal choice just because I fancied some sweet chilli sauce! This leg we didn’t put any chocolate into our snack packs as the heat means it would just melt. Having a separate chocolate stash means that it can be saved for a day when we feel the need for a little treat. Hot chocolate, chai lattes and peppermint tea are usually the choice at the end of a long cold night of torrential rain and wind.

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More distressingly our toilet paper supplies are dwindling and we are down to our final roll. Fortunately we have a few extra packets of wet wipes but we are having to be sparing. Luckily we packed plenty of suncream as without that we would be frying in the burning equatorial sunshine and we have plenty of soap, aftersun and toothpaste left (not sure what that says about our cleanliness!) so at least this means we’ll be able to wash our hair before our arrival in Samoa.

UPDATE: We have all been a little despondent this week due to our slow progress and the fact that we aren’t close to Samoa yet so today Lizanne made us some pancakes with Nutella to cheer us up – yummy! Last night at sunset we saw a large pod of whales all around the boat. They looked like very large dolphins with stubby noses and we think they are sperm whales. Shortly after this we witnessed a fish frenzy. A large shoal of fish obviously being chased by something all jumping out of the water, splashing and looking like an explosion was happening under the water. Today we have had a shark swimming around the boat again as well as a large dark animal which we have yet to identify as it keeps disappearing before we can get a good look. Lizanne got hit by another flying fish last night while sat in the hatch of the aft cabin as we got ready for sleep and I got hit by one on the oars in the dark. They seem to be a new type now, darker with double wings which look like a butterflies.

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5 Comments

  1. leonie says:

    Tough days, ladies, but keep strong. You are doing so amazingly well despite what the mighty Pacific is throwing at you. Laura, you may be gaining an understanding of why and how your South Pacific friends operate (Me!). Saw the Mighty All Blacks win against the Mighty Namibians at the wonderful Olympic Stadium on Thursday night. Your long time friend, Sam, will be flying over you in the next few days en route to NZ – give him a wave! With you all the way. Stay safe. xxxx

  2. Lorraine says:

    You are all doing amazingly well. I really hope things pick up and you are not too delayed especially with certain provisions running out. X

  3. Hi girls,
    Sounds like things are really tough at the moment, but true to form you manage to find a positive to keep you going! Thank goodness for chocolate!
    Remember that the night is always darkest before the dawn they say, although you have seen a fair few over the past weeks so will know whether that is true!
    Keep on going and know that you are in the thoughts and prayers of many many people xxxx

  4. jg says:

    Tough time for the Crew thank goodness you have a great survival plan. Thinking of you. Keep safe.

  5. Simon TY says:

    Again, a great, honest blog. I have no idea how you do it. Psyched up for 60 days, yet, knowing there is still a way to go. I am not sure what to say…….how to keep you going, keep you positive. No idea: I think you are rather more expert than I am at that…..

    Anyhow, Wales just beat England, so that group remains wide open. England have to beat Oz…..simples.

    Something I did read a couple of days ago: more people are killed each year by falling coconuts than sharks. So, watch out then you hit that danger zone, the beaches of Samoa.

    You need some jokes: why cant you hear a pterodactyl wee ? Because the P is silent.

    Why cant a bike stand on its own ? because it is two tyred.

    Why was the band called 999 Megabytes ? because it didnt have a Gig yet.

    Why didnt the lifeguard save the hippy ? Cos he was too far out, man

    Hope those amuse you for a few short minutes

    XXX

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