Well finally the wind has completely left me.. so I started the small engine and for the first time since we left Darwin, Guppy’s nose is pointing in the right direction.. Then I began to take down all the sails and roll in the Genoa… But wait… why is it that the Genoa resists rolling in? Oh no… the only reason I can think of is that it became stuck with the halyard wrapped around the forestay. But it is night and even with the flashllight I can’t see where the problem really lies. Oh well… There won’t be any wind during the night so this can wait until tomorrow. Early the next morning I am back on the foredeck in the hot sun with no breeze to cool me off, and start pulling at the Genoa halyard, all the time looking up to make sure things are unfurling properly until everything is back in its normal place with the halyard securely fixed … Problem solved. Then I stretched out in the cockpit and enjoyed the rising sun – but staying in the shade that is, of course! The same weird floating ‘sand’ I saw back in the Arafura Sea is all around again – big brownish fields of it defacing the endless blue of the sea… And to think that I had just cleaned Guppy’s hull a few days ago! Apart from the sand, the sea is like a huge flat mirror with no sign of wind to come. This will be another very hot day..

Laura