I got my first 12 hours of solid sleep in a long time last night. I guess the same also applies to the German crew on the catamaran moored next to me in the marina, that have been kept awake with all the banging, drilling and sanding noise over past few weeks.
The water has gone rotten old cold. Expecting warmer weather on the route towards 17N.
While I wait, I've been catching up on reading a book an old sailor at the marina gave me. The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst (1932–1969). A true "Sailor's Classic" its about Donald Crowhurst who set out to win the Golden Globe challenge as the first man to nonstop circumnavigate the world alone in a sailboat. Setting out on the latest possible day, Crowhurst found himself limping along at a ridiculously slow pace three weeks later. Plagued by equipment failures, the "Teignmouth Electron" was taking water due to design flaws, and had no real chance of completing the race. Having staked all on a successful outcome, the tension and isolation of his predicament attacked Crowhurst's mind. The log books include an attempt to construct a philosophical reinterpretation of the human condition that would provide an escape from his impossible situation. The number 243 shows up several times in these writings: he originally planned to finish the trip in 243 days, recorded a false distance of 243 nautical miles in one day's sailing (which if valid would have been a record day's run at the time), and appears to have ended his life on the 243rd day (July 1).
His last log entry was on June 29, 1969; it is assumed that he then jumped overboard and drowned himself.
Other books I can recommend are ones written by Robin Knox-Johnston, Nigel Tetley, Bernard Moitessier, Chay Blyth, John Ridgway, Bill King, Alex Carozzo, and Loïck Fougeron.
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Moving on with slightly more positive thoughts, all the loose ends have been wrapped up apart from a few media commitments. The boat in its sponsor livery is the center of attention in the marina. I have a sneaky feeling that as I write this someone somewhere is searching for an ICICI Bank (sponsor) on the island.
Thanks to all for the encouraging emails. Fingers crossed and on standby,
A good weekend to everyone,
B
The Book - Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst
Donald Crowhurst - Lost at sea
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