When I returned this afternoon from biking to shop the Great Cabin was 108ºF/42ºF.
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Several sailors have written that they were unaware of molded sails. One wrote welcoming me to the 21st Century.
The sails are made by North Sails 3Di process. If you google that you will find lots more information.
Zach, the North sailmaker who delivered the sails to me, said that the process requires low humidity which is why they are made in a facility in Nevada. He also said that 3Di sails have lasted two successive races on some Volvo round the world race boats. That is 50,000 hard miles, which should be enough for me.
Their finish is hard and slippery, and the mainsail does not flake down as compactly as the old sail and will require a new cover.
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If you have been paying the slightest attention, you may have observed that life is absurd.
Three small added proofs: GANNET now has a Torqeedo outboard stowed at the end of each pipe berth. And I noticed that my K-Mart bike is a mountain bike. The highest mountain on Marathon is a curb.
Not long ago I received an email from a man writing a book about extreme sailing. He asked several questions, including what I think is the difference between racers and cruisers. Regular readers will know that I reject dividing all sailors into one of those two boxes. One difference is that according to what I read the average cruiser uses his engine 25% to 33% of the time, and I got to wondering what percentage I have used GANNET’s Torqeedo since leaving San Diego.
I am not sure of the exact number, but it is less than 1/1000th. Our daily runs San Diego to Marathon total 23,339. I have definitely not powered 23.3 miles total since then. The number is closer to 5 or 6 miles, not counting one day of flat calm in the Bay of Islands when I tried to power from Opua to Russell.
At that distance, now having bought two Torqeedos and two spare batteries, my motoring costs are a staggering $1,000 a mile. Which I am sure you will agree is absurd.
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From the label on the now empty bottle of Buffalo Trace:
The ancient paths of countless buffalo led America westward. Legendary explorers, pioneers, and settlers alike followed these trails, known as traces, through rugged wilderness to new lands, new adventures, and new-found freedom.
One such trace, called the Great Buffalo Trace, crossed the Kentucky River at a spot just north of present-day Frankfort. Early pioneers settled here in 1775 and, with plentiful pure limestone water and rich bottom loam for growing exceptional grains, distillation quickly followed. With unparalleled reputation for creating outstanding bourbon whiskey, the Buffalo Trace Distillery today stands as one of America’s oldest distilling sites.
I have always thought of buffalo on the western plains and did not know they were once east of the Mississippi as well.
I will buy another bottle.
At present I am sitting on a pipe berth in front of a fan, waiting for the sun to go down.
