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June 12, 1999
Hawaii to Tarawa Voyage, Update #41
Day 40. Saturday 12 June 1999 0418 GMT
Wind ENE 3-4. Heading 210M.
Latitude: 07deg 30.586N
Longitude: 175deg 59.466W
After a fluky start to the day with the wind dithering as to which direction it wanted to come from, we were treated to a two hour lull in which the sun, unimpeded by cloud, beat mercilessly down on the Good Ship followed by a steady easterly which is still blowing as I write. According to the forecast the next few days will see a drop in wind, meaning back to the sweat and grind, so I'm making the most of the breeze through the hatch while it lasts. The short periods when conditions are tolerable, between stretches either of little wind and intense heat or high wind and everything being soaked, are few and far between. And in their rarity, they become special, once in a lifetime moments that I treasure for their uniqueness. How many people will ever get to experience what it is to be alone on a vast ocean, 1,000's of miles from land? Only a handful perhaps.
Today has been quite the day for visits from sea-beasts. This morning a small 4ft shark (a Tiger maybe - with stripes down its back?) began circling the boat and on each pass would roll and slap its belly against the hull near the bow on the port side. After a couple of laps I realized what it was doing: a dark coloured fish attached to its underside was trying to be dislodged. After five or six attempts the shark gave up, sliding effortlessly away into the depths as quietly as it had arrived, in the sneaky way I imagined sharks do from the books I've read.
And just now as I write this, there is an adult Finback whale circling the boat counterclockwise, keeping its distance of about 20 yards, though each time coming a little closer (a little alarmingly I have to say), obviously checking us out. Every 60 seconds or so I am hearing the sharp exhalation of its breath that sounds almost like the sigh of a wave cresting, but with more urgency at the beginning. I wonder what it thinks of us? I wonder what the bottom of Moksha looks like to a Finback Whale? Do we look threatening? Hope not. Do we look like food? Hope not. Do we look like a potential mate? Hope not (especially if it's a lone male and Moksha's smooth lines look feminine). Does it want to play? Hope not. Now its coming closer still - just blew 10ft from the stern. This is making me nervous, I think I'll go and close the front hatch in case we get flipped...
5mins later: Seems like it's gone. Had me worried there for a while. Unless you've seen a whale in real life you have no idea as to how immense they are - the biggest living thing on the planet. And for that reason they are very impressive to watch - from a distance. At close quarters this was scary - like a huge, black submarine about to surface under us. Just one flick of its tail and Moksha would be in pieces. There are a quite a few horror stories of yachts being hit by whales and survivors then hanging onto boat parts for X amount of months because the boat sank so quickly they didn't get to their life raft or EPIRB in time. Scary stuff. But I think we're OK - no exhalations for 10mins now.
Who said life out on the big blue is dull?
Jason Lewis,
The Moksha motor
Posted on June 12, 1999 4:30 AM