Water and Speed

Chris helms as Don & others gather much needed rain water.

Amazing how the mood changes when you start sailing and get water,,very exciting stuff!..we are now at least two days behind Bligh and chasing him again..it was a fast night sailing passing another ship..that did not stop to offer soft drinks??..and a bit more rain but  not worth catching..this morning the wind went soft for awhile and we all held our breath but it has held up pretty well and one squall had us sailing at 7kts again...

We still have no answers on the solar panels which is a worry as voltage is down again so trying to save power every where which is hard as we only use this computer and the phone and the cameras??...but we can only put in about 1.5 amps at 12v a day..not much..

My gout is gone but I keep hitting my little toe as it sticks out permanently now..have been in agony twice today so will have to live with it taped but the good news is that I have finally stopped itching..the fresh water bath last night was good but I left my shirt under the dodger which is now a bit on the nose?..we all have some interesting odours I can assure you..

I have the new dilemma now of not trying to eat all the protein in our diet..everything except the fruit is protien onboard..we have extra fruit but how can I ask the crew to do it tough if I am eating fruit..I have joined their water ration again so back to one litre a day..but may have to up that...we get the water at dawn..I try to drink no more than 600mls by 6pm at night then the remaining 400 mils during the night...after I drank the 3 litres the other day I still did not Pee till the next day which is a sure sign of serious dehydration..not good for gout or Kidney stones...

Margie has the biggest challenges though back in the office..I report in morning and night to her on progress and she is trying g to manage everything else in my life at the same time so not sure what I can say about that...we are trying to maintain our isolation but I have to put up with and organize many more things than Bligh did..the sat phone is a blessing and a curse at the same time
and dealing with modern society is far more challenging.

Tomorrow is the big day for Jessica Watson..Happy to be here but it would be fun to see her in..I can't believe all the knockers that apparently are coming out of the woodwork again..you know Adventure is a very positive thing for anyone to be involved with..and she is an inspiration...WELL DONE JESS!...see you when I get out of this ....

So are you gearing up for the Talisker Bounty Boat Challenge...only our food for sunday!! and one litre of water...toilet paper optional and then the money you save on food send into SIF as a donation on our just giving site..with a fun comment...when I get to read the comments I will give the funniest one one of our special numbered envelopes we are carrying onboard...we have one for every day of the voyage so you will get sundays envelope..they have Bligh stamps,a hand drawing of the boat and are post marked in Tonga and Kupang , have the official expedition stamp and will be signed by all the crew..there will only be 48 envelopes..I hope?..so very rare...so please make a donation on that day and a funny comment when you put it in...

If you want to make a bid on one of the other 47 envelopes I will tell you how latter..all money will go to SIF

So lets hope we keep sailing and make power..the water is looking better now...still sinking a little and very definitely need your help on Sunday...THANKS...Don