Third Letter From the Edge

Date: June 19, 1998

Theme: What a difference a day can make.

Position: North 36 Degrees 43.28 Minutes

West 72 Degrees 06.88 Minutes

Dear Friends,

What a difference a day can make. This one has been glorious. It began with a gem of a thunderstorm last night. There has been a pattern of evening storms, but last night’s was truly grand. After I’d turned in for the night, I heard the pipes and whistles of dolphins. Wanting to be neighborly, I went out on deck to say hello. Twelve or fourteen dolphin circled the boat, leaping and carrying on. It was quite a show. Then as quickly as they appeared, they left. I stood for a long time on deck in the cockpit. I held my arms high above my head as if to embrace the clouds above.

Before crawling back into the cabin, I double-checked that everything was secure on deck. The clouds looked particularly dark. Within the hour the wind picked up howling out of the West and the rain pummeled the Pearl. I rocked and rolled around my little cabin, but every time I checked the compass it showed my course as due East. "Go baby go!" Once again, one of my favorite passages from Shakespeare fit the mood. "Blow wind and crack your cheeks rage blow you cataracts and hurricanos spout till you’ve drenched the steeple and drowned the cox." (King Lear) At dawn, there was still a stiff breeze blowing the boat toward the East. When I checked my position, I found myself fifteen miles closer to the Gulf Stream and knocking on the elevator door.

I did not actually begin rowing until 6:15 AM. But I think I have a good excuse for my tardiness not beginning at 5:30 AM. The storm left me a present, a cockpit full of semi-fresh water. I took a bath, which given the heat of the last several days was sorely needed. Then I did laundry. When I settled into work at the oars there were 3 and 4 foot swells. As has become my custom I rowed the first hour and a half without a break. This first session was spectacular. With the wind behind me I could keep the boat moving at almost 6 knots. I knew this was too good to last, but it was terrific fun. In those moments I embraced the philosophy of my friend Aretha Fuqua, "I believe I could fly."

After a quick breakfast, I settled into my second session at the oars. The wind began to die down to nothing. The day is a repeat of yesterday, hazy, hot, humid, and flat. But by lunch time I’d covered nearly 20 nautical miles and now feel I am in the elevator: the Gulf Stream. The water temperature is rising, sometimes as high as 78 degrees. I will do a good day at the oars to make sure I row well into the elevator.

Victoria suffered a blond moment last night. Tori was determined to fix the water-maker and took the thing apart AGAIN. Victoria opened a package of M&M’s and set them down on the gunnel. Tori had just detached the shiny new hose with the weight taped to it that she put on yesterday trying to fix the problem. The boat heaved to one side and Victoria -- who lives by the axiom "women and stomachs first" -- leaped to save the M&M’s from being dispatched to the oblivion of the deep. This feat of self-less heroinism did not unpunished go. To save the M&M’s Victoria let go of the weighted hose. As it was meant to, the weight pulled the hose overboard along with an important o-ring that was part of the watermaker’s pre-filter system.

Tori was less than amused, but soon set about concocting a new solution to the problem. Before Victoria could get hungry again, Tori disassembled the on deck bilge pump and manufactured a new o-ring from it’s bladder. Then she climbed under the deck to steal a section of tubing from the bow ballast tank. Once reassembled the water-maker sputtered to life and pumped out its first real water. Tori was unbearably self-satisfied. If the hose had not been lost overboard, she might never have figured out that the seal on the water-maker’s pre-filter was bad and letting air into the system.

In sum, I had a great storm kick me into the Gulf Stream. I’ve had a bath. The laundry, if not clean, is cleaner than it was yesterday. The sun is shining. The water is calm and I would wish myself to be in no other place on earth than the one in which I find myself. If there is any truer statement of happiness, I cannot bring it to mind.

As ever,

Tori