Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Cast of Characters
Our radio net quickly developed a two-part rhythm. The first ten to fifteen minutes of radio
time were dedicated to position and weather reports, followed by a sociable second section
of advice, banter, and jokes. On the open sea, days can be rich in overall impressions but
generally uneventful, and the net let us glimpse life beyond our own limited horizons. It
was a little like watching TV, and we had the choice of several channels.
It all started innocently, with
Darramy's
fishing success drawing calls for advice on lures.
This led to a few episodes of the Cooking Channel, featuring
Adventure Bound's
recipes
for all those tasty fish. The latter crew also spun off an Adventure Channel, chronicling
Zimbabwean Bruce's antics in the deep blue sea. Going overboard to clean the hull in a
calm, he ended up spearing two mahi mahi! The father-son team aboard
Sophie
issued a
Race Report, racking up consistent daily runs of 160 to 180 miles. Meanwhile, the Dutch
couple aboard
Happy Bird
offered a Home Improvement program shortly after Roderick
sent Yvonne (grandmother of two) up the mast in a heavy swell to recover a parted halyard.
Ever-upbeat Michael of
Astarte
ran the Weather Channel, with Brian of
Darramy
reporting
painstakingly exact measurements from his “wavometer” (2.3 meter swells on every sixth
wave) and “cloudometer” (37% cloudy skies). Brian also directed the Comedy Network,
starring his imaginary crew member, Roger the cabin boy, who would be sent off on er-
rands up the mast and even to other boats with various complaints. We laughed ourselves
silly and knew that our friends were all doing the same in their not-so-solitary stretches of
ocean beyond our horizon.
Since few of the POST net members had met in person before setting off, it was great fun
forming a mental image of each person over the air. Even more fun was actually meeting
many of our cohort in French Polynesia. As it turned out, a number of other boats
(equipped with SSB receivers only) had been tuning in, too. We discovered this when per-
fect strangers greeted us in the Marquesas and said they had been tracking our progress all
along!
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