22nd of November

900 miles to go.

It's Sunday, and the sky is really cloudy. I haven't written much recently, because it's hard to stay upright at the computer with all this tacking and jibbing (and just think it was me who designed the navigation desk - what was I thinking about? Gosh!). Moreover, it's really something here! It started with strong winds right into my face, while I had to head up in order to go further to the north and pass some of the small Marquesas Islands. I have to admit it was rather difficult. Then, it turned out that some small cuts on my right knee and my left ankle got infected, and I had such a fever that I couldn't even move. I had never been so hot in my whole life;) The blocks of the self-steering gear got worn out, and I had to replace them immediately, because the ropes would wear through, too, which would be a disaster. Then, I discovered a 'tiny' leak in a place from which water would not pass to the bilge, where I have a pump, so every thirty minutes I had to use my only pan (I had given away my other kitchen stuff on the Marquesas) to pour water to the bilge. The result: well, it was terribly windy behind the porthole, I was exhausted with a fever...

I had to make use of my first-aid kit. I found a scalpel, opened the infected wounds, cut out whatever I could, and I just couldn't part with the first-aid kit, I almost took it to bed with me (and you should know that normally I'm not the medicine-taking kind of a person, I am a typical Aries, rarely sticking to my prescriptions). Luckily, I had some antibiotic left from my infection on the Cocos Islands, so I used it. Unfortunately, I had to open the wounds a few times, it hurt a looooooot, but I knew that if I left all the pus inside, it wouldn't end well, probably I would have to come back. I managed to survive because I cleaned the wounds and dressed them every day.

I had to sleep on the berth, for the first time during this cruise, and it was really hard to find a position in which the wounds wouldn't get irritated. I couldn't sleep on the floor, because the floors were open so that I could pour water. I had to be careful not to fall into the bilge and twist my ankle. The yacht got thrown around a lot, and once I fell from the companionway and thought that I'd broken my leg. A lot of rain meant that it poured down on my berth (there is a little hole somewhere in that area). Sleeping in a wet, mouldering sleeping bag - pure pleasure, I'm telling you.

Then it got quiet, I had two beautiful days, with dolphins swimming along with me. I would just lie on the bow and watch them jumping. Then, it was time for the equator. Hurray! For the fourth time during my journey I passed this magical line, and there it started... The Doldrums and variable winds, clouds started to cover the sky, water began to whirl, the wind would come and go... and my engine stopped working. It was tough. In order to move a bit, I had to go under full sails, then, after 10 minutes, a squall would come, and then the silence again, whereas the sea was full of waves coming from various directions, so the sails would start to flap, and I was afraid that the ropes wouldn't survive it. Then the same thing again, and again, I didn't sleep a wink. The squalls got stronger, and I there was absolutely no moon, so I couldn't see them, and I didn't have an opportunity to reef. Each minute felt like an hour, I had to wait and stay awake all the time, I thought I'd go crazy. A storm with some lightning came, too. I spent my days at the engine, desperate to repair my water pump, so I tried this and that a million times, trying to eliminate whatever might be a problem... After all, I could have got stuck in this calm belt for weeks. Eventually, I put an additional washer into the pump - it would either burn immediately or start working. It works! I was afraid to be happy, but I could at least charge my battery, because there'd been no sun for a few days. The sky was awful, and these squalls...

It's 22 November already, and only today I have drunk my first coffee. Before, I was too tired to do any kitchen work. At present, winds are changing a lot, I get 15, 20 or sometimes even 30 knots, the direction is changing, too, so I have to adjust the self-steering gear all the time. I am a bit tired... but it's alright. Sometimes, I stare at the ocean, and I think... it's beautiful, really.