Well, I have to say, the closer I get to land the less sleep I get. I keep waking in cold sweats feeling like I am just about to collide with a ship and have an irresistible urge to bolt on deck and check. There is never anyone there. It is simply my mind playing tricks on me, but never the less my nightmares of collisions persist. In all my time at sea I have learnt to listen to my intuition, so even though I am still quite far from land I get out of bed and I check. I also know that I won’t get back to sleep without checking...
So I was a little groggy this morning but happy to wake to a glorious day of blue skies and warm sunshine. Yesterday was a bit wet and dreary so the sunshine was welcome. Most of the morning was spent on the phone organizing and talking with people and on the computer sending emails. By lunch time I was all talked out and typed out.
As I am now only a day and a bit from arriving into Cape Town I thought that I would take advantage of the sunshine and have a bucket bath on the back deck. My last bath where I was able to wash my hair, was 5 days before I rounded cape horn, so I really really needed that bath. I also thought that the locals of Cape Town might appreciate the extra effort. So, on the back deck I gave myself the full pamper, washed hair, shaved legs and the list goes on. It simply felt good to have sunshine on skin as I have been so rugged up even in the sunshine that I have missed that warm feeling you get. As I showered I kept thinking that it would be just my luck that a ship would crest the horizon whilst I am butt naked on the back deck so I was very vigilant in keeping a lookout. With my shower complete I simply sat and enjoyed the sun for a while.
Now as I am nearing land I can expect to see more traffic but I have also seen some other signs of land. Today I motored past 2 fishing buoys, at different times. Both times I nearly gave myself a heart attack thinking I was about to run over a net. Both times they were a single buoy and no net. Lucky. So apart from these little stressful moments my day has been quite peaceful. It is really the first time I have had some rest following my dismasting. There is still heaps to arrange and organise but I feel more at rest in my mind. I know that I will achieve what I set out to achieve.
It was 7pm tonight by the time my good fuel was all used up and I needed to start using the fuel that was given to me by the container ship. I wrapped a Cotton rag around my siphon hose and put 20 litres into my tank to test. This way if it doesn’t work than I only need to siphon out 20 litres. Its been over 30 minutes and the engine is still going strong. I am almost certain that I am in the clear. This is a huge relief, the last thing I would want would be to have to be towed the last 100 nm to land. Climate Action Now and I have sailed over 13 000 nm together in this journey and I really want to finish it as we started with just to two of us. As my morse cable is still broken so I will need assistance to dock the boat ………… but I can live with that.
Goodnight
#lisablair
#climateaction
#capetown
