Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
various escapades of Asterix and his large friend Obelix. It is interesting how we slip into
fantasies to avoid our own, sometimes grim, realities.
9
th
November: Finally broke through all the bloody squalls and thunderstorms of the ITCZ
and find myself in ten degrees northern latitude. I have fifteen knots of wind on the beam,
my course three hundred and thirty to three hundred and forty degrees magnetic. I am
experiencing gusts of twenty to twenty-five knots quite frequently due to the effects of the
ITCZ. I imagine these will gradually fade.
I have been so bored that I began making what I call copper-drop jewelry from copper wire
and solid copper pennies. It's quite fascinating and absorbing. I have the head of a four
pound hammer, which I used to crush the dried corn from the Galapagos to Hawaii cross-
ing with Gavin. I also have an ordinary carpenter's hammer. The four pounder is placed
on a scrap of rough wood so as not to damage the boat. I take a copper penny and begin
pounding it between the four pound hammer and the carpenter's hammer. The boat sounds
like a blacksmith's forge. I beat this penny until it expands into a weird, flat shape. It by no
ways resembles a penny any more. I then find pieces of copper wire from my treasure lock-
er and pound on short lengths of about two or three inches long. Concentrating most of the
blows at one end, I form a teardrop shape. The smooth roundness of the wire is disguised
as I beat along the sides, making it almost square. After making several of these I take the
beaten penny and drill three or four holes around the side. Taking a teardrop wire, I twist
a little loop with a pair of needle nose pliers and insert this loop into one of the holes and
cinch closed the loop. I repeat this until I have a funny, round, flattened piece of copper
penny with three teardrop shaped wires coming from the side. They make interesting neck-
lace pendants (which I gave to friends later).
This kept me preoccupied for several days. I also made a lovely leather bangle which I still
wear on special occasions to this day, when my dark side manifests itself! On this leather
amulet, I stitched on a few special coins I had collected in various currencies from the is-
lands. I sewed a white sailing twine border around the sides, and it has tiny brass bolts and
dome nuts studded around here and there. It always gets a favorable comment.
I have picked up the guitar again and began going over the jazz movements I had learnt
during those gloomy, scary days south of New Zealand. I have about five hundred miles to
go!
10
th
November: Now it's too much! The wind has increased to thirty knots, and huge
rollers have been smashing into poor Déjà vu since yesterday evening. Jesus wept! Can't
we just get on with some decent bloody sailing for once? I flew off the handle, throwing
