As if in an attempt to confuse me as to what size flying fish should be, a somewhat different specimen needed removing today. At first, I thought it was a large drop of water splashing onto the boat but, on closer inspection, it turned out to be a flying fish smaller than my fingernail! It did get me wondering though; where has the rest of the wildlife gone?
In the first few weeks of the crossing, it seemed like I was spotting something every day. Whether it was a whale, dolphins or a drifting boat, there was always something on the horizon, and usually making a fairly close inspection of the boat. There was even a turtle at one point. Having said that, this one didn’t look particularly teenage, mutant or ninja (i.e. a hero in a half shell (turtle power)). In fact it appeared to be rather, well, dead. Nevertheless, the only thing I can remember about them from uni is that they carry the carapace (why it couldn’t just be called “the shell” I’ll never know), so I’m probably not the best judge of life.
But over the past month, really, there’s been nothing bar flying fish and the same few birds I’ve seen every single day since I started. I’m aware, given that there’s about 4 miles of water below me, that there’s probably quite a lot going on down there somewhere, but what good does that do me? I expect to be entertained by troupes of dancing girls and the like. Doesn’t this ocean know how to put on a show?!
One good thing is that there also seems to be a distinct lack of ships passing in the night. There’s nothing worse than settling down to a good night’s sleep only for the radar-reflector to start beeping at you.
As for the rowing, I think “Ok” is the only way to put it. Hopefully the weather should improve from tonight onwards so, despite having been pushed a bit south of Antigua, I’m not too concerned about being able to get that back. Having said that, there’s only just over 2 weeks to do it in (I hope)! It’s starting to get a bit exciting now. As every day passes, I can make a slightly more accurate prediction of my arrival date. The big decision I have to make is still to come: when do I start my sprint for the finishing line?
