5645 Miles Down...

Well, it's a week since we left my favourite island, Cocos otherwise known as the Keeling Islands. Not much to report. The weather has been favourable some days and not so good on others. Heading West we have had a mix between a frustrating ESE wind and an ideal SSE wind between 17 and 38Kts which sends us winging on a broad reach or goose wing all day. It stretches some peoples patience, but the prospect of making landfall on the Seychelles before the month is over is extremely exciting.

It's day 40 at sea. The longest time we have sailed without a break. I had anticipated that we would be suffering from some sort of "Cabin Fever" by now, or even elation after coming so far, but it's just daily routine now, but a relaxed one. Wake up, Coffee, Check weather wind and the course, change if necessary, adjust sails, fix what broke yesterday, or list it for fixing when we make landfall, do my watch, fish, play music, eat, read, sleep, repeat.

Boring? Yes, I guess so but it beats: Wake up children, argue with children, feed and water children, take children to school, clean up after children, pick up children from school, feed and water children, argue with children, put children to bed, drink wine and repeat.

When at sea, time seems to stretch out. Your life becomes uncluttered and simple, I don't fret about anything really. All my possessions (except my drum kit) are with me in one bag since I threw out 22 years worth of hoarded useless junk out before I left home.

I'm lucky enough to have my man with me of course. I worry about my family and how they may be, but I have come to the realisation that I am completely out of contact in the middle of the Indian Ocean and even if something was wrong, there is not a hell of a lot I can do about it. It's not like I can VHF a passing airliner and say "Hey Mate, do you mind dropping me off in Wales because my dog is sick".

I do have a lot of time to think. I think about everything, even things I don't want to think about and the thoughts are seldom interrupted, by phones ringing, random people turning up, worries about the Ten O'Clock News. Modern life seems to be one of constant interruption. We seem to have lost the ability to just sit there and think or even have a decent conversation with someone without getting interrupted. E-Mails, Apps, Facebook, Texts, Radio, Tv, News, phone calls (even when you are not near a phone!) No wonder we get restless.

When at Sea, forced to be literally 2000 miles away from all of those things, your conversations become better, you listen more and you understand more, you question more---it's a form of therapy I guess.

I have found that people I have not spoken to, or even thought of, for years suddenly pop up in my head. I think about how my past life was, working two jobs 120 hours a week, rushing around the place trying to have money, a social life and a future. "Not enough hours in the day" was probably the thing I said most often after "Jesus, I'm tired-- I need a glass of wine!"

I have arrived at the conclusion that the more you try to force into your life, panicking about everything that needed to be done yesterday, the less friendly and accommodating time becomes.

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