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May 31, 2000
Tarawa to Solomon Islands voyage, Update #3
Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 23:43:54 -0700
Day 2
Wind ENE 10 knots
195 Magnetic
With the dawning of the third day at sea it was starting to look as if neither of us would be parting with $10 for being the first to feed the fishes. I was beginning to wonder whether Chris (being the competitive sort of guy he is) had secretly employed Kenny - the expedition cameraman - to teach him the traditional Scottish art of seasickness prevention: hanging over the side with a fifty pence piece stuck between one's teeth. But at around 11 a.m. Chris made a sudden b-line for the side of the boat and began the noisy process of depositing his breakfast into the ocean.
It seems however the roll of the ocean is not to blame on this occasion, rather the stale mix we made our breakfast pancakes with. We may well have a food dilemma on board. Much of the provisions I bought with me from Hawaii a year ago are showing signs of seeing better days, and even the stores we picked up in Tarawa are turning out to be less than inspirational. The carrots (originally from Australia) are all utterly depressed looking, the onions we've tried so far have mildew and even a sealed can of tomatoes proved rotten on being opened. The Australian food we've experienced on Tarawa and have with us here on Moksha is pretty rubbish it has to be said. But with enough food to get us all the way to Australia if need be there should be enough to pick through and get us to Honiara where we can re-supply for the final leg to Cairns.
On a fresher note we had two short but intense rain showers pass overhead during the day. On both occasions Chris and I battened down the hatches and clambered outside to receive nature's most precious gift to us on the ocean: a cold, freshwater shower. Ahhh, what bliss!!! With a couple of these every day and the assistance of a most excellent 12 volt fan we've rigged up to cool the face of the person pedaling, we should be able to avoid the unpleasant side-effects of dipping regularly in the ocean to cool off like on the last voyage: salt-water boils, septicemia and possible shark attack.
Jason & Chris,
The Moksha motors
Posted on May 31, 2000 5:55 AM