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August 8, 2000
Solomons to Australia voyage - Update #21
Lat/Long as of 14.00 hrs local time
13 degs 54. 57’ S
149 degs 26. 96’E
Day 22. Wind SE 10 knots. Heading 172M
We had just changed shifts. I had been on the pedals and Jason was taking a GPS fix. It is important in our approach to Cairns that after each shift we compare miles gained south versus drift west - adjustments are always better done sooner rather than later. Unfortunately the GPS – a brand new unit for this leg after the last one developed a power supply fault – was now refusing to power up also. No amount of extra work with the power lead or batteries would restore it. This was doubly unfortunate as this particular unit has with it a set of electronic C-map charts to pinpoint Moksha’s precise position inside the Great Barrier Reef at all times. So now we are back to using the old favorite – an old back up GPS that apparently was cheap as anything but just keeps going and going. You’d think they’d get life and death pieces of equipment like GPS’s to be bombproof. Shoddy gear – there’s no excuse for it.
We sat there glumly contemplating this latest development. All at once Jason heard an unfamiliar sound outside the hatch. We had guests. A pair of dolphins had come to investigate. But these were not your run of the mill cuddly flipper-like dolphins. Snub-nosed and dark in color these guys were aggressively patrolling. The pair would ride the incoming waves toward the boat, veering at the last moment bow and stern to circle around once gain for another pass. We looked on our quick reference chart and figured them to be Risso Dolphins, squid hunters of the south Pacific. After about 10 minutes they were gone and Jason and I were left to a different discussion about giant squids. I had recently seen a PBS program on specimens as long as 80ft, never seen by scientists but “We know they’re out there”. Jason shared a nightmare he’d often had during his solo crossing of waking up to a giant squid attached to the boat. I’d asked him whether he’d ever seen Disney’s ‘20,000 Leagues under the sea’. The fight scene between Kirk Douglas’ Ned and the giant squid is quite memorable. Tonight however we both sleep safe knowing our dolphin gladiators are keeping close watch and for myself knowing that Disney has taken care of any monster squids that are out there.
April
Posted on August 8, 2000 2:46 PM