Day 59: The beauty in nature
A full 24 hours without a rain squall. How novel!
The conditions have been very calm. Almost no swell and a light Easterly wind. With these conditions, I am not quite hitting the 100km daily target, but it’s not a race, but with people starting to ask for an ETA so they can put things into place, it does add a certain amount of new pressure.
I am still aiming for Sunday 19th.
Albert keeps track of the power management system on board, and today he said very pleasedly, “you have enough battery power to get to Salvador should the solar panels stop working”. After what we went through on the first attempt, you can understand the relief behind his message. 🔋⚡
I am trying to sort out a flight for myself, but prices have increased. A single flight ticket to Cape Town flying home on the same flight as my current wife is more than a return ticket. Might have to take those comments of “why not paddle home” more seriously at this rate 😜
Red sky at night a kayakers delight
Last night I was standing in the hatch looking at the stars when I got a little fright as a bird shrieked just above my head. This seems to be their SOP (standard operating procedure) before coming in for a landing.
This little guy was no more than two feet above me. For some reason, I stuck my hand up underneath it, and as he came lower, he bumped into my hand. To my surprise, it grabbed on with its feet.
I now had a bird sitting on the back of my hand. It was not concerned at all. Almost as if this normally happens either that or it’s a bit doff. I suspect it has no idea what I am besides an odd perch.
I slowly lowered my hand to the cockpit and moved my hand under my paddle shaft, forcing it to stand on the paddle shaft. There it sat for a while, trying to digest what had just happened. Maybe it figured it out, but soon it took flight and went to land on the aft solar panels, where it stayed till daybreak.
The wildlife I have experienced on this trip has surpassed all my other Atlantic crossings. It’s because I am much closer to the water and not 2m above the water but mostly because I am going so dam slowly compared to a sailing boat.
I get to watch each blue bottle or the tiny specks of plankton shimmering in the sunlight slowly move past me. Schools of fish spend days following along. Flying fish to the Blue Marlin visits. Dorado and Pilot fish all share the ocean alongside Osiyeza and now being a mobile bird perch. All very special experiences.
🐦🐬🦠🐟🐠🦀🦑🦭
Richard’s final run into Salvador.
