A glorious morning here. A sunny and windy afternoon.
I rowed ashore at 10:30, did laundry, had a Kiwiburger at the marina cafe, and bought yoghurt at the general store for dinner. The Kiwiburger had on it an egg, beets, lettuce, tomato, onion and who knows what else. More than enough food for me for the day, and I didn’t quite finish it.
I made it ashore yesterday as well, primarily for a hot shower.
You have to put a $2.00 NZ coin/about $1.60 US into a slot for five minutes of hot water. Usually that is enough; but it felt so good yesterday that I turned the water as hot as I could stand and indulged in a two coin shower.
Two boats were tied to the Q Dock this morning; three yesterday with a fourth of maxi size anchored out though there was ample room even for her to come alongside.
The forecast here is for fine weather for the next five days. Such a forecast is rare for New Zealand, particularly at this time of year, and not to be wasted. Assuming those in the islands have been paying attention, they should have left several days ago.
The fleet may arrive this coming week.
I have decided to take advantage of the good weather not to go sailing, but to work on GANNET. Her cockpit needs painting, so does her non-skid deck, wood needs to be oiled, and some things still need to be dried out.
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Being boat bound by rain Friday, I wrote answers to questions for an interview at a new website and in doing so realized that I am coming up to the fortieth anniversary of one of the most important days in my life.
On November 2, 1974, I pushed the engineless EGREGIOUS away from her slip at Harbor Island Marina in San Diego for what became my first attempt at Cape Horn. As those of you who have read STORM PASSAGE know, I didn’t make it then. Nor on my second attempt either. But I did on my third a year later.
What is so important to me about that day is that it clearly marked the beginning of the third part of my life, a difference I have noted on the poetry page between ‘longing’ and ‘being’. Perhaps I deceive myself, but I like to believe that I’m still in the ‘being’ phase of life, not just remembering.
This is the third part of my life, with childhood being the first until about age 21. The second, young adulthood. Both of those were longing. Both, but particularly the second, preparing.
So November 2, 2014, will be a special day for me. A day I’ll honor and remember.
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I’ve received several emails recently asking where I’m going next and if I’m going to continue the circumnavigation.
Where I’m going next is back to the United States.
Someone wrote, “After a quick refit, you can soon be on your way again.”
That is true. GANNET and I could sail next month. But I am not a simple sailor. I might even be a rather complex sailor. And I’m flying back to be with Carol, whom I love and miss and haven’t seen for six months.
I will return to GANNET next March, arriving in Opua on the 19th.
As I have written, there have been moments sailing GANNET when I’ve thought: this is too hard. But I’ve thought that many times before on many boats and know it passes.
I am engaged in what, time and chance permitting, will become my sixth circumnavigation. I think I know how it is going to go for the coming two years, but not where I will close the circle. San Diego, Honolulu, Neiafu and Opua are all possibilities. Everything so far may have been a six thousand mile preamble.
When I’m ready, I’ll post my plans.
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The five GANNET passage logs can now be found on the logs page. If interested, scroll down past those of the fifth circumnavigation to GANNET. New ones will be posted as usual in the journal and added to the log page as they happen.
