News Archive
15 March 2006
Big decisions
After long consideration, I have decided to take a supply drop off Honolulu. I do not say stop, because I will not actually stop. DHL one of my existing sponsors have very kindly agreed to transport some items from the UK. A boat will rendezvous with me offshore and literally hand over the items. I will not compromise the 'non-stop' aspect of my voyage, though its 'unsupported' status will go. The reason for the supply drop is primarily to replace items damaged during my knockdown at Cape Horn, including the control unit for the heating system, which is necessary if I am going to venture up into the Arctic Circle. Also, I will be taking on additional charts, those for the Canadian Arctic region. My planned route is to go by way of the Russian Arctic and so bisect all meridians of longitude. However, we are not having much luck at getting round the Russian insistence on placing an ice-pilot aboard, which I am not prepared to accept as my voyage would then no longer be single-handed, the most crucial element for me. Thus, the Canadian Arctic may be an alternative, since the Canadian authorities do not place restrictions on transit through the North West Passage. Because of the necessity of these items, I am taking the opportunity of restocking on reading material as well. Campbell Armstrong, a terrific thriller writer will be sending out a number of his books. There will be additional fishing tackle, some rigging items and a few luxuries, like a decent coffee cup and a new sleeping bag!
Yet again, I have run into a patch of no wind and for three days now I have barely moved. It is incredibly frustrating and peculiarly disorientating. The reason for my frustration is that after Hawaii, I need to travel 3,000 miles to a point among the Mariana Islands, south east of Japan. This point is my selected antipodean point and is diametrically opposed on the earth's surface to a point I passed in the Atlantic, off the coat of Brazil. A least one pair of antipodes is needed to define a circumnavigation. With over 5,000 miles to sail to Hawaii and a further 3,000 form my antipodean point to the Bering Strait, time is tight. The last thing I can afford is to be becalmed. Amazingly, I lost almost a month because of calms during my run down the Atlantic and that has had a significant impact on my Pacific schedule.
On the bright side, literally, it is blissfully warm and the blue skies are doing much to maintain my spirits!