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November 24
I was visited by a sailboat around 3:00 PM. As they crossed my bow they asked if I needed any food, water, or anything else. I said no, that all I needed was a tail wind. They were trailing a fishing line and as they sailed by, they hooked a dolphin. It was about 4-5 feet long. I think it may have been Stanley.
November 25
No big Thanksgiving meal today. Mostly Mountain Lift bars and a little granola. I must report a stow-away. A small bird has taken up residence on the American Pearl. I will send a picture. I do not think it is a sea bird. It may have been carried off course by the Hurricane. I hope someone can tell me what this kind of bird eats. I've tried freeze dried raspberries, crunched up granola, and Gatorade. After it landed, the bird merely slept for the first several hours.
The good news is I AM rowing again. The seas are calm enough to make some progress even INTO the wind. The wind was 10-15 knots from the Southwest. I made almost 20 miles today to the South. I am not happy to be rowing into the wind, but at least I am rowing again.
November 26
Stella and Stanley live! The sailboat may have caught a dolphin, but it wasn't Stanley, and Stella is back again. She has a fresh scar in her dorsal area, but appears to be doing just fine.
The bird and I have become friends. I was able to give it some water with an eye-dropper, after many hours of easing my way closer to it.
Yesterday, I did not expect the bird to survive, but today it seems to have more energy. It slept under my gunwale against the cabin bulkhead last night. I used an old bandana to create a small shelter for it. At one point it tried to fly into my cabin -- no deal. I'll share the boat with a bird but not my cabin.
Sorry these messages are so short. I've been using my computer power to program the Standard C to send position reports in the place of the Argos tracking beacon. This has provided me with the best puzzle I've had in weeks. I think Kathy Steward and I almost have it right. (Kathy always has it right -- I need to experiment.)
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