Playing Solitaire till Dawn

2011 07 03

38 00 N
047 16 W

When we are not fixing rotted out exhaust hose or sewing the dodger again or baking bread or trying to set the windvane we amuse ourselves in various ways.

Oh, we engage in the usual activities of course but there are only so many books you can read or sudokus you do before craving a change. The jury is still out on whether you can have too much sex. Actually court is still in session. (Final arguments are due tomorrow)

So what does one do during the other rest of the time?

Right now for example I have just finished watching the 1500z wefax broadcast out of Boston (NMF). If I time it right I can fill an entire hour, line by line, watching first the satellite photo (oh, look. angry cloud over London. Wonder what is going on there?) then the Mid North Atlantic wefax Eastern longitudes and then western longitudes and finally the 500 mb North Atlantic wefax.

While I do this the Budget Committee is scanning the sea endlessly for treasure. Real treasure. Today we bagged a $450 fender and matching swivel from the fishing vessel Spit and Sputter. Obviously this valuable object has come loose from its net or the trap it marked and was found by us floating in the atlantic. We know the vessel name because the owner marked the fender/buoy with vessel name and two phone numbers. We would call one of the numbers but the guys did not put their area code on the buoy.

If anyone out there does a google search for the vessel name please email us and we will call and advise. Probably too late but we hate to enrich ourselves at the expense of a fisherman.

When these activities no longer satisfy we look for fish.

The BC spied a great huge leatherback turtle today and I saw one this morning but thought it a buoy. Who knew these things were big and round and orange? Yesterday of course the BC saw, or rather heard, a small pod of whales. After being startled out of her reverie by the powerful exhalationm of these enormous aquatic mammals she was able to call me in time to whale watch with her for a while.

It is really hot out here and the sun shines with the intensity of a third degree in a cheap spy film. Unrelenting is often used to describe the effect and perfectly appropriate that. Our vessel has a shadow. To a fish our shadow is shade.

Each day we find anywhere from ten to one hundred big black fish swimming under our keel seeking respite from the elements.

It is kind of nice being a rest and relaxation centre.