10 days at sea… I don’t think about the time passing; it is infinite like the sea.
Since leaving Easter Island nearly two weeks ago, Race for Water has covered a good third of the route to Papeete and French Polynesia. The crew has naturally got into a good routine aboard: meeting on Monday, respite on Sunday, day watches, night watches, odd jobs and improvements to the boat. “The catamaran likes us to take care of her and we’re sparing no effort!” admits Annabelle, second in command.
Annabelle: “I lose track of the days, except when it comes down to taking stock of the situation aboard. For me though, once we’re at sea, the days gone by are gone, and what’s to come will be what it will be.
We’re at the mercy of the elements, they are what decide our arrival. We just have a little room for manoeuvre by opting to position ourselves a little further south or north!
One thing for sure is that we’ve covered 815 miles and we have 1,500 to go.
We’ve had several opportunities to fly the kite, 4 flights in total over 3 days.
Two flights were dedicated to research and development for our partner Skysails. These flights are organised by Bernd (the Skysails engineer in charge of the Kite project on Race for Water) and the crew is assisting him with that. Bernd is on-board in a bid to continue enhancing the towing kite system.
Two flights have been for Race for Water, led by the crew. They help us to save battery power and make faster headway.
We’ve also been continuing with our “Plastisphère” sampling. To date we’ve taken 6 samples, which systematically reveal microplastic and all manner of plankton fauna.
Pathy and Petero have settled in very well to life aboard. Pathy has been having sleep therapy, dictated by a rather hectic life before we left and mild seasickness. There’s nothing to fear though, as she says: “The bed is my friend! As soon as I begin to feel ill, I take refuge in it and I get a bit of sleep!” However, we are now seeing more and more of her! She’s finding her sea legs!
Pathy and Petero are each recounting our voyage in their own way: Pathy with his cameras and his video camera; Petero with her wooden scissors, her vision as an artist and her storyteller soul.
Petero has set himself up in the workshop where he’s sculpting. He wants to know everything, he wants to write our biographies, how we got where we are and about this adventure and what it means to us. He’s also planned to sculpt a wooden panel for each of us, which is representative of each one of us in relation to the odyssey. He’s also shared his sculpture knowledge with some of us. Once we make landfall, he’s going to spread the word about our odyssey during conferences.
Pathy is using modern technology. She’s intending to launch a Facebook page for the Rapa Nui for Water and use the social networks to communicate.
Each person is keen to share their experience and exchange ideas about in their own way.”