Yacht Saga Insurance
Thursday 8th February 2007
Lat 49 52S Long 139 48W
Miles To Norfolk, USA: 9,559 nm
Distance In 24 Hours: 287.2 nm
Average Speed In 24 Hours: 11.96 knots

“No position reports received for the last three polls so I have no idea where the other boats are or how we are comparing.

“To-day I decided to run round things on SAGA INSURANCE with a grease gun. I got out the shiny new gun and its cartridge. There was no obvious way to deposit the contents of the cartridge into the gun so I cut its top and used it as a plunger, opening the other end. The grease passed satisfactorily into the gun. I closed the gun, released its spring, and decided there was no pressure so opened the gun again. The entire contents disgorged themselves everywhere, mostly on my oily trousers, which now, I suppose, should be known as Greaseskins! That, I reflected, was not an action I had thought through very well. Slowly I gathered the grease and put it back into the gun, wiped away the excess all over the place and started to pump. Nothing happened. The grease will not come out of the nozzle. I have left it to consider its poor performance and report to me in the morning.”

“I shall end up this voyage with a massive right shoulder and minimal left one. The left wrist still gives trouble when used. It does not hurt except when pressure comes on it so I use my right arm for winching to protect it.”

“Whoever gave me the book Arthur and George by Julian Barnes, many thanks, very readable. Otherwise pressing on. The wind is from the SSW so we can go slightly south of east, which is what I want. A good days run of 266 miles to noon, which is 10 hours behind UK time. There is a residual southerly sea, which makes the motion uncomfortable but bearable and means that letters typed on this compter tend to come up all over the place so put
my poor splling down to that pls. RKJ”