Lat -19.094444
Lon -169.708889
It’s rainy and grey but I can see the small country of Niue (www.niueisland.com) is off my port bow! I will make it to Alofi this afternoon. Man I’m hoping for a good New Zealand steak!!!
Yesterday was decent enough. I managed my first tea since Palmerston. I also managed to eat and sleep, I feel much better today.
A single handers life without an autopilot is near impossible. After 4 hours at the helm my arms felt like they were being ripped from the sockets. Without my autopilot (Quint) I also felt very alone. There were no stars, moon, or anything but blackness surrounding Namaste. The sea was hissing loudly, and I started to loose it.
I’m finding it’s not the size of the waves, or the speed of the wind that frightens me. It’s the barrier, the mental wall if you will. I have heard of three boats this season that had called maydays for a rescue. In each of the cases the boats seemed fine, in one case the motor was even on to charge the batteries. I got a taste of my wall the other night. I’ll admit it, I was afraid, I wanted OUT!
I’m finding my ipod to be more of a friend as time goes on, it takes a bit of the loneliness of a black night.
My little autopilot is working although my motor sounds like it’s “hunting” for an RPM. I may just need to change the internal fuel filter, I have one aboard. When I changed my fuel lines in Tahiti I put them on backwards at first, The motor wouldn’t start. Once I swapped them around it started without a hitch. I’m hoping I didn’t damage the injector pump. A diesel engine is a very simple beast with the exception on the injector pump which is very delicate and as complicated as a Swiss watch. If I did damage it I’ll need to send it to Australia or New Zealand for a fix at a diesel shop, but I pry that’s not the case. If it is I’ll try to make it to Tonga first (300 miles) as there is no protected anchorage here.
I hear there is internet on the island, if so, I’ll upload some pix.
Cheers everyone.
– Alex
Recent Comments