8th June, 2008
The Journey South,
G’day to all my sea friends out there – you are in my thoughts. Dolphins, dolphins, dolphins, sea snakes, sail fish, turtles, tuna, whales, plastic bags and soda bottles are many of the sights we have seen so far in the race for the race..We are now 9 days and 1466 nautical miles south and over half way to Panama. We are well into the warmer weather we had awaited and that reminds me so much of the reef and island cruising of home. No more solid winds with white unicorns dancing around us, just light breeze and smooth seas along our path.
The Boat is going fantastic and is very enjoyable to co-exist with. She draws me in, teaches me something and shows me another side of her every day. I look forward to the many seas and miles we have ahead of us that will take us all to the minds of environmental people all over the world. The team is going well although some are not so used to the heat and are not enjoying it as much as I am. Today we came across a turtle with a large sea bird on its back so we brought the boat along side to find it was not well and could not descend. A sad moment and we hope it has a healthy, long life ahead. As today comes to another great end we are met by more dancing dolphins and a tropical shower to cleanse all.
Until next time, good night Australia.
Smooth sailing and fair winds to all
Brent Taylor
1st Mate/ engineer
‘2041’
7th June, 2008
The weather is hot and the winds are calm. The awning of solar panels has been our saving grace as the only source of shade on deck. A week out and we are all craving a cold beverage…anything with ice. All day
I have been dreaming of ice water. Each day has routine and any change from routine is a momentous day in our eyes. Today Homer, Jake and I conducted a number of rescue missions- a ‘Feliz Dia Mami’ mylar balloon (a long lost token of love for a mami somewhere in Mexico), a styrofoam apple tray, and a plastic water bottle have all been saved from the seas. Our sea turtle karma is building. In hindsight, we should have kept count of each balloon sighting. From our first rescue mission in the Channel Islands until now we have seen at least 20 or 30….that’s potentially 20 or 30 sea turtles mistaking them for tasty jellyfish. Give flowers instead of balloons, they last longer, smell better and decompose.
The sea life has been exciting. A 30 ft. finback whale graced us with its presence the other evening at sunset. Bioluminescent dolphins chased our bow last night like shooting stars in the black sea. Sea turtles bopping along in no hurry (safe from balloons for today) and some rays gliding along the surface all smooth and stealth-like. A 4 ft. mahi mahi glistened in the sun as it jumped out of the water and flying fish splash across the surface like skipping stones. The sea life is by no means abundant, a very telling state of our oceans, but when we are lucky enough to witness one of these creatures in their natural habitat we all stop to watch in awe.
in peace…
Hannah Huntley
cook, aka Sushi chef
4th June, 2008
This morning I was awoken to the good smells of Hannah’s cookin’, who so wonderfully prepared pancakes and sausages for the whole lot of us. The day only got better from there. We had some decent wind until noon when things chilled out a bit and allowed me to scurry up the Yankee and replace a rope which had chaffed through a couple days earlier. Then we were treated to a wonderful sushi lunch while everyone mulled around on the deck all afternoon soaking in the beautiful weather and watching the passing whales. Dinner was surf and turf, spuds, and veggies with an amazing sunset. Yep…life can’t get much better than this.
Jakey
The Deckhand
3rd June, 2008
As the weather warms the sea life becomes more abundant. I woke up from a midday nap today with Jakey dipping a bucket into the sea. Our days are surrounded by a canvas of light blue skies and deep blue seas and when we noticed a smattering of red as our bow sliced through the waves Jake had to find out the culprit. He pulled in one of the thousands of shellfish that were adding color to the waters around us and it looked like a baby lobster. It was just one section of the seas- maybe the water was warmer or the feed was good- He reminded me of Sebastian from the Little Mermaid only he didn’t serenade us with song but he added adventure to our days of routine.
Until the next adventure…
Hannah Huntley
2041 Cook
3rd June, 2008
The Race for The Race begins, after a false start we left San Diego on Saturday morning the 31st of May with great winds of 20 knots plus from behind pushing us south with three consecutive 200+ mile days and onward for more. We are now a third of the way down the Mexican coast and the boat is pushing along steadily as normal not even noticing her load of over 500 gallons of vegetable oil to carry us on through the doldrums and the Panama Canal should the wind not be there for us. We are hoping to catch fish for some great meals and some excitement along the way so wish us luck friends. We had quite a collection of squid on deck this morning so tonight while on watch I’m going to try and collect them while their fresh for some salt and pepper calamari treats tomorrow. After being surrounded with white caps and what resemble unicorns jumping along the horizon the Team is going well with huge smiles all around and we all look forward to warmer weather and smoother seas ahead.
Smooth sailing and G’day to all
Brent Taylor
1st Mate/ engineer
‘2041’
1st June, 2008
Our first full day of the Panama/Nantucket voyage has been quite fortuitous. With an average of 8.5 knots we have sailed 200 miles south in 24 hours, caught a fish for dinner and saw a night sky blanketed in stars. We were expecting sunshine but instead have weather which has made us resort to pulling our beanie caps out of the bottom of our bags but at least it’s pushing us along in the right direction. As we near the southern hemisphere and its constellations, the song ‘Southern Cross’ comes to mind- just one of many songs fitting to the soundtrack of this voyage. Captain Mark left us in San Diego to take a few weeks off with his family; I’m sure weeks full of surfing, kayaking and beachside bbq’s but at the rate we are going he better get his fill because we will be in Panama before we, or he, realizes it! Thanks for a fantastic west coast Voyage Mark and we will see you in Panama! He left us in the hands of Captain Homer who dove right in to our crazy little home with excitement and good energy. Day two begins and porpoises are playing off our bow and the albatross gracefully glide around the white caps of the waves, besides the five of us that call the 2041 home, that’s all the life we see. No land, just the swell of the seas as far as the eye can see and an albatross following our wake.
Fair winds.
Hannah Huntley
