Today, my favourite subject: food. But first, a favour. I want you all to really, really enjoy your food while I am out here. Appreciate its freshness, its variety, the fact that you can go to the supermarket and buy just about anything, you can even go to a restaurant and have something special. You can have ice cream and other frozen treats. You can have food chilled, broiled, baked, roasted, fried, saut?ed or steamed. In short, you can eat what you want, and I want you to cherish that as an honour and a privilege and not something taken for granted.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not grumbling (well, not much). While I am on dry land I more than make up for the deprivations of the ocean. But while I am out here I do spend a disproportionate amount of time daydreaming about the joys of food and drink.
At the moment, my typical day’s intake is as pictured in the photograph – from top left, and going clockwise:
Beansprouts – grown here on board the Brocade (bean mix provided by Sproutpeople)
Rawfood crackers – grains sprouted, pureed, and “baked” at low temperature to preserve the enzymes. Made for me by my friend Eva.
Larabars – yummy fruit and nut bars made in Colorado – with no added sugar, unprocessed, raw, non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy free, vegan and kosher. My favourite flavours are Apple Pie, Banana Cookie, Ginger Snap, Chocolate and Chocolate Coffee
Mixed nuts – cashews, brazils, almonds and pecans
Expedition meal – the one pictured is freeze-dried (so needs hot water added), but at the moment I am actually working through my preferred boil-in-the-bag varieties
There is nothing at all bad about this selection of foods. Most of them (with the exception of expedition meals) I often eat on dry land. It is just the monotony of eating the same things, day after day, that gets a bit wearing.
I had some fresh food when I set out – some delicious loaves of bread, avocados, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and a bag of carrots – but those are now a long-distant memory. With the benefit of hindsight, and if it hadn’t been such a last-minute rush to depart, I might have packed a few more treats, with a bit more variety – canned fish, soups, oatmeal, maybe even some illicit sweet treats (a month out here and the sugar cravings still have not gone away). Ah well, I’ll know for next time.
I’ve got plenty of food on board, so I certainly won’t starve. And I do, of course, have my fishing rod if the need arises. But I have to say, I am VERY much looking forward to a fresh green salad and something that doesn’t come out of a packet when I get back to dry land.
In the meantime, please do me the courtesy of enjoying your meals, knowing that it is not only the poor in Africa who would gladly swap places with you. Bon appetit!
Other stuff:
Today I passed 125 degrees West. I truly hope this means that I will never again see 124 degrees from sea level. Conditions are rough and I’m having to row across the waves, so progress is slow, but any progress is good progress.
No update on the water situation. I am being frugal with my supplies, and hope to make them last as long as possible before having to use the manual watermaker. I’m really interested to hear that Alex Bellini has a manual watermaker connected to his rowing seat. I fully intend to investigate this option – might even be worth a trip to Sydney (one of my favourite cities) to see it in person once Alex has completed his crossing!
Some special thank yous to people whose generosity has now earned them a place in the scrolling banner at the top of this page: Paul Kroculick; Mark Reid; Stephanie Batzer, Wayne Batzer; Bob Mcgough; Danny Smith.
Thanks also for helpful comments from Jim, Dee Metzger, Clint, Fred, and John H.
Regarding comments on the watermaker, please be assured that I have had a number of calls with the manufacturer, and have exhausted all their suggestions. So no need for further speculations as to the cause – but thank you anyway!
And hellos to Roger (you have a solar-powered electric motorbike – cool! But do stay safe!), Louie Figueroa, Jennifer, Eric (I do have water ballast as well as lead ballast, precisely for that reason), Margo, John Palmay (it has got a bit warmer, but it really depends on whether the sun comes out or not), Gary (my gloves are made by Kakadu, Australia), Dana (I just realized today that it has not rained once since I set out – surprising!), Greg, Johnny Trucker, and Richard Will.
Signing off now from the big bouncy blue ocean.
PS from Rita.
I have had quite a number of people keen to help Roz in her present situation without a working watermaker. Enquiries are being made to yachtsmen to see if anyone would be willing to take her some water about two weeks from now. I do hope that we get a response. However, we need to stress that the situation is not so critical that it needs intervention. Roz does have a professional support team who are constantly in touch with her and each other. Please do not be tempted to take any unilateral action as you would create further problems for Roz and restrict the support team’s options. Roz also asks that no large ships should be asked to respond to her enquiry about a re-supply of water.
Please use the contact details on this website if you have any suggestions that might be helpful. Thank you for your interest in Roz’s venture.
Position Wednesday evening: 30 28 464N, 125 03 827W
Thursday afternoon: 30 11 959N, 125 12 064W