Stuck on the Tropic of Cancer. Days 36–37

Stuck on the Tropic of Cancer. Days 36–37 The wind that carried us 4,500 nautical miles in a month has vanished. A light following wind is pushing the boat completely off her course. Then came a dead calm, and Lady Mary was stuck for two days on the Tropic of Cancer—23 degrees north latitude, beyond which, notionally, the subtropics begin and the heat will ease. Probably. The nights have become cooler, and that makes existence aboard one particular boat easier. At least physically, it is easier to sail home. Over the past twenty-four hours we covered 20 miles, compared with the 120–170 miles a day the yacht flew through in March. What a Calm Is Good For Today, the young sailor and I put the calm to good use, cleaning and sorting our things. We scrubbed mould out of a couple of lockers and packed some of our belongings into bags ready to be taken off the yacht and brought home. A small domestic pleasure, but it is easier to breathe. In general, when your heart aches and your head cannot cope with reality, the best thing to do is some physical work. Put things in order, wash and clean everything you can... which ultimately helps settle your thoughts and feelings as well. That is what keeps us going. The wind was not switched back on until the evening of 6 April, and at last we passed the thousand-mile mark to the southern tip of Japan. After we round it, there will be about 700 miles left to Vladivostok. Most likely, this will be the most difficult leg of the journey. Cold, with storms and headwinds. Oh, and we had an emergency! We are having dinner late in the evening, minding our own business and looking forward to some healthy-living-style sleep: tumbling into bed at ten, straight after dinner. There is hardly any wind; a calm is closing in. And suddenly, bang!—a piece of metal drops from a short height onto the deck and rolls away. Deck lights on, all hands... The captain shouts, “Everyone here, now!” Everyone means Nastya and me. Lada stays below, guarding the food so it does not fly off the table. In short, the pin that holds the boom in place (the spar attached to the mast, which carries the mainsail)—well, that pin came out, leaving the boom hanging separately from the mast. Fortunately, the weather was calm, otherwise a battering ram like that could have smashed into a window, and wouldn’t that have been fun. This pin had already broken on our way to Polynesia. On the islands, the captain had it repaired—some craftsmen machined a new threaded pin. But since the part was homemade after all, it behaves accordingly. Anyway, we took down the sail and sailed through the night under the headsail alone, while the captain called in metal epoxy for assistance and left it to cure until morning. In the morning, by hook or by crook, we finally managed to lash the boom back onto the mast, hoisted the sail with the red patches, and off we went. At first we flew along at 3 miles an hour, and then even slower. Keep your fingers crossed that both the sail and the pin make it to Vladivostok, and wish us a 15–20-knot quartering wind all the way to the finish. We are already sick and tired of losing both miles and speed. The wind was not switched back on until the evening of 6 April, and at last we passed the thousand-mile mark to the southern tip of Japan. After we round it, there will be about 700 miles left to Vladivostok. Most likely, this will be the most difficult leg of the journey. Cold, with storms and headwinds. At sunset, a booby landed on the bowsprit to rest. These birds do not normally fly more than a couple of hundred miles from land. It probably flew in from the Mariana Islands, or travelled as a stowaway aboard some ship. Let it rest; all right, we’ll give it a lift :). A huge thank-you to the sender whose card ends in ...7375 for the birthday gifts sent via YooMoney . Our heartfelt thanks to everyone supporting the expedition! May all be well with you! Transmitted via satellite link. From Day 37 in the ocean. Coordinates: 23°31′ N, 147°16′ E. You can find our location in real time under the Route tab. It shows the track from the RockSTAR Iridium 360 tracker supplied by MVS Telecom.