Today we are finally back in comms! After 6 days of no comms (apart from our emergency satellite phone) we can send news once more.
A great deal has happened: during a 24hr storm, with breaking wave crests at 30ft, our drogue anchor deployed off the stern to slow us down and prevent another capsize (seriously scary!), a big, close to vertical swell pushed us at 45deg with such force that our 1 ton boat was literally lifted sideways and firmly smacked back on the water some 20m away! The drogue parachute tore but held us. The incredible force of the landing unfortunately snapped our centre board clean off at the base of the hull! We are now without a centre board (which is designed to hold us stable in case of side winds and swells).
Remember I told you about the jellyfishes?
Well they didn’t leave us. Maybe they wanted to communicate with us as we couldn’t speak with anyone else!
The sea is thick with jelly fish, literally millions of them! We haven’t been able to swim for 6 days. Being stung by these guys can result in anaphylactic shock and death. I remember being stung off Mozambique some years ago. I went into shock and was in hospital with serious doses of antihistamine and cortisone. So, for now, our washing is confined to half a liter of water a day and 1 wet wipe. The wet wipe is for back, sack and crack! My hair is like a sticky, crusty salted mop! I shaved yesterday as was getting a serious chafe rash under my chin and neck. Ablutions are literally over the side with harness on and serious balancing act, especially in big seas, which are usually accompanied by unwelcome saltwater enimas!
I’m doing this for our future. PLEASE get on the free DOT Challenge App and pull with us to make a difference to our only home. Also, please ‘like’ and ‘share’ the DOT - Do One Thing FB page.
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About the DOT Foundation: www.thedotfoundation.org