Dawn this morning - 0230 ish UTC, two big albatrosses and the usual gaggle of Yellow Noses. The big ones were probably New Zealand but possibly Snowy - the plumage is very similar and proper identification requires a good look at the bill. Breathtakingly gorgeous - and in the golden dawn as they banked away, their white underparts had a golden sheen for the few seconds they reflected the sun directly. If they hang around till the evening, they will be pink in the dying sunset. Drool all y'all at your desks in the big smoke!
In the interests of science and education - ain't we always striving to add to the great store of knowledge? - an experiment that seems to be working. As some of you will know, the best part of a cornflakes packet and of some production boats that arrive by ship in plastic cocoons is the packaging. I have the bits of the soft plastic strip that once wrapped a Beneteau mast doing good things all over the boat. Those of you who have followed this saga from its early days will also know of the awful problem of lacerated bum caused by the pointy bits of your pelvis trying to bore their way out through the glutes as you sit on the hard surfaces and Berri pirouettes and corkscrews around you. Inescapable and Awful! But in a moment of inspiration yesterday, I cut a piece of the plastic strip about 40cm by 20 and then cut two 120mm holes in it at the correct distance to accommodate the arse bones and behold - it seems to work. A two holer version of a piles pad, I think!
So have a noice day. We are about to crack 9000 miles by GPS from Falmouth.
