These few days are all about trying to make as much east as possible without losing too much ground to the south. There are some stronger winds on their way so I’m trying out get into as good as possible a position before they arrive. Although I’d love to visit Antarctica I’m not too keen on going in a rowing boat, and in any case I’m looking forward to Mexico! You’d think that now I’ve turned around I would be rowing with the wind, but although it’s far better, I still have to negotiate crosswinds, contrary currents and changeable weather to make safe landfall. No headwinds yet though, thank goodness 🙂

My rowing shift was interrupted this evening by one of the wheels falling off my seat. Digging out my tools and spares kit, I set to work changing it over for a new one. While I was working on it I noticed another couple that looked rather worse for wear, so changed those as well. There was nearly an unfortunate incident as I scrambled out of my hatch, all the Allen keys I possess in one hand, just as the boat was knocked by an unexpected wave. Luckily I kept a tight grip on them… The last hour of rowing today was noticeably smoother, and I’m looking forward to testing it out again tomorrow.

Fishy update:

The little fish still crowd around the bottom of the boat, although no one seems to be eating them at the moment. Today also saw a return (or a friend?) of the turtle. He’s really keen on looking at my rudder up close, probably because there are a few barnacles on it, but maybe also because it moves back and forth independently of the rest of the boat? Saw some dolphins in the distance this evening. This group didn’t come too close to the boat, but it seems that early evening is the time for dolphin spotting out here.