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June 18, 1999
Hawaii to Tarawa Voyage, Update #46
Day 46. Friday 18 June 1999 0325 GMT
Wind NE 4-5. Heading 210M.
Latitude: 05deg 02.180N
Longitude: 178deg 09.472W
We were one and a half miles short of the 40-mile south latitude target yesterday. Not too bad. Today with the slightly stronger wind we should make the quota easily. The down side to this three-day spurt is the wear and tear to my body. After 14 hrs in the saddle yesterday my poor buns - resembling two halves of a pepperoni pizza with the remnants of the boils as it is - were screaming blue murder. Part of the problem is inadequate padding on the pedal seat. Normally I have a rotation of towels and assorted T-shirts that if not lining the seat are drying out on top. However, the regular squalls that have been coming through every day now for the past week mean there are few drying opportunities, and so these pieces, once drenched in sweat, stay welded to each other in compacted layers that feel like granite to my cheeks. To exacerbate the problem I have only one pair of cycling shorts that are also in a sorry state.
On the bright side I saw my biggest shark today - a 12 foot tiddler that flashed back and forth a couple of times underneath the boat chasing a large school of fish that seemed to be attempting to use Moksha as a kind of shield. Great! I'm now giving serious reconsideration to the plan I had for this weekend of going over the side and removing barnacles.
Jason Lewis,
The Moksha motor
Posted on June 18, 1999 1:54 AM