Monday, June 7, 2010

Time Goes By By.........!

Re watches..our $1000 period pocket watches including the Kendall all failed some time ago...as we have media commitments we need to know the time so unfortunately we have had to use a normal watch..I mentioned this in the Blogs....beaten by Bligh here.but we did not spend all that money for nothing just to use our watches..?? it happens..my modern watch also failed so we just have Dave"s and his is broken but keeps time..


Torches we use for official business ..like writing the blog at night..and for safety of the boat in very trying conditions to look at the compass...we have experienced many many occasions of great difficulty on this trip without torches so understand what Bligh went through ..it is not nice...Dave W. forgot his night glasses so I have had to allow him to use his torch often....


GPS is used for emergencies and as described previously...


Blogging is not an emergency..it is what sharing this expedition is all about and we have always said we will use the sat. comms..to talk to media and blog every day..sometime I wish I was Bligh!!


Must be some confusion re the noon sights as I have never taken daily sights..for this leg to Kupang I will probably only take every other day depending on clouds and where we think we are??..our DR positions have been relatively accurate..the scariest part is just not knowing what is up front...that is different I can tell you and we have had plenty of serious frights...more than enough in my lifetime anyway...I have already decided that once we have made landfall on the tip of Timor...I will use my GPS as Bligh used his local Pilot to get him in..that is going to be challenging but we cannot get a local pilot because of modern customs requirements...all fun!!


Morning and evening calls to Margie are standard safety log ins every day across the Pacific..now after we arrived at the Barrier Reef it is only once a day and we are using Marketa as the safety check in..Margie has gone to Europe and I have not spoken to her since the 29th.Checking into Expedition Headquarters is a critical way to minimize risk with any expedition and the only way things get organized.I am dealing with Media, camera boats, helicopters,Customs,freight agents,airlines,Govt. permits..to name just a few...Bligh wins again!! so the calls are very important or we have no expedition..


I think some people are loosing sight of the fact that we have always said safety is a priority and getting close to Bligh and his men is what we are trying to achieve..we have not used one piece of toilet paper and we have little food and a little boat that is being managed very skillfully so far, so we are still at it..I am very glad about that..what we call easy seas..others would be horrified to see...Dave W is always amazed at the seas ..more so than Dave P and I as we have spent many years in the Southern Ocean but we both know that we have been in seas that could capsize the boat any time!!..even now ..today..if you did things wrong the boat could be upside down without too much trouble....but so far so good...we are and have been very close to Bligh...I think of them out here every day...I really think he would be having fun with us alongside him ...and I strongly believe our sailing challenge is the same boat for boat...we are smaller and very low like him...so I believe we are doing what we set out to do...it is challenging while being as safe as we can make it..no apologies for that...


Always good to get your comments..I will never be half the man that Bligh was...but it is fun being part of his journey!!..Don

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I Think the font is to big!

dave hanna said...

food
wish i could be there to give u the food at the other end, it would have been good to see u at the finish. funny how everyone wants fast food after a time without
dave and juls raglan

Caseys said...

We just finished a massive baked dinner with gravy, sorry your not here to share it with us. There are leftovers but knowone here wants any more, Ill have to give it to the dog.
Good Luck & happy sailing

Brian said...

Keep up the good work. I reckon it is "Epic" the voyage you are doing in such a little boat.

Cheers
Brian

Anonymous said...

@dave hanna in NZ. I am a kiwi and that is so typical of our hospitality. We love to show off our backyard cos it is the most spectacular backyard in the world!!! and we are hospitable - yummy food, warm bed etc and all we want in return is to see your satisfaction!! go Dave and Hannah!! No other nationality does it like the Kiwis do..MJ

Peg-Leg-Pete said...

Hear, Hear Don,
Stay focused,
No relaxing till your on the beach in KUPANG eating your take away.
Best Peg leg Pete

Anonymous said...

Don't count your chickens before they hatch ! Heard that all my life its sometimes worth remembering ! Cheers !

magpie said...

I'm with anonymous on this one. Summed it up perfectly, lol.
Hoo Roo ☺☺☺

Christiane said...

I don't exactly know when this story caught me, I think it was at the kidney stone thing. That was when I really realized how many things you all have to deal with.

Just wanted to wish you a safe trip for the last few days and let you know that your trip has an impact on me and made me think.

Hope you all get your favourite food once in Kupang! You so deserve it!!

Sahaja Sam said...

Hello gentlemen !
I have been amused by today's blog...that it sounds so very defensive.
Don, guys, you have nothing to defend. This journey has many motivations, purposes and uses, many of which nobody will even realise until after you are all safely home. So please don't feel that you ever have to defend what you're doing out there.
It has been obvious to me since the very beginning that safety would come first and that those who voluntarily set off on this totally nutty and brillient adventure, knew what they were getting themselves into inasmuch as they could never have known what to expect !, so who are we to put you on the spot about anything ? It is by reflecting on what we witness in your events and how you handle them that we ourselves will learn.
I personally think you are all doing amazingly well and that every little thing, from kidney stones to seashell souvenirs is perfect, happening for the perfect reason and at the perfect time.
It is through setting out on this kind of unpredictable venture full of spontaneous happenings, that we allow ourselves to reconnect with 'What Truly Is' on our life path.
Full marks I say, for blogging us, for even posting photos, for living this dream and following those ghosts.
Thank you gents...pray continue !
(with much love and deep deep respect)

Anonymous said...

Hi Don and crew...
Food orders duly noted..The woks and grill plates'll all be fired up. Any last minute order changes happily entertained....
Ian Modjo [Bligh's Beach Bistro]

Toni McLean said...

Well, I don't know what others have been saying, but I wouldn't like to be in your shoes ... or boat! regardless of whatever devices you have that Bligh didn't. We mustn't forget that Bligh and his crew didn't have any real prospect of life left for them. It really was a do or die thing, so not much to lose really in doing what they did. It was a case of try or certainly die.

On the other hand, you guys all do have a life somewhere else. There is something to lose if you don't use some gadget that could make the difference between surviving or dying. A very different perspective.

What you're doing is courageous (crazy!?) enough. No need to be foolhardy. Of course, some of us might think you've already crossed that boundary, but no need to completely lose sight of it.

You're replicating the orginal journey quite well enough in my humble opinion.

Good luck with the food order.

Cheers
Toni

Anonymous said...

Hi MJ!

How to help on Gulf oil disaster.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/04/how-to-help-gulf-oil-disaster-even-if-you-can%E2%80%99t-make-it-there/

Go well Balisker crew!!!

Anonymous said...

Please Help!!!

The animals are screaming for their lives!!!

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/04/how-to-help-gulf-oil-disaster-even-if-you-can%E2%80%99t-make-it-there/