How's Yer Willy (Part 20): Frustration in the Middle of a Long Passage

It is Monday 30th today. We have been at sea for 18 days now. The wind has died and sailing straight downwind with two poled out headsails we are making about 4 knots. This is acceptable but tedious. What is currently driving me up the pole (sic) is that each evening our skipper still insists in taking the poles in. This means we can’t point at the target and head off about 60 degrees in the wrong direction at an even slower speed with just one sail out. By doing this we can extend the passage almost indefinitely. My latest estimates are a further 8 days.  It is  a general issue is that every time we do anything with the boat or sails, the level of angst rises for no apparent reason. I have avoided getting involved at all a couple of times and the same thing happens.

It kind of reminds me of the Army regiment who, every day, have breakfast standing up. No chairs in the dining room at breakfast. This is  because they were ambushed in Zulu land in eighteen hundred and something while they were sitting to have breakfast. They are never going to get caught off guard like that again. I hope that wasn’t your regiment Mr Monson.  Our poor skipper had an unfortunate experience in another ocean with different weather and a different crew and hasn’t put it behind him. It is however his toy box so that is that. It does worry me though because the next piece to Tahiti is actually much more difficult with many reefs and narrow entrance passages to lagoons. I am concerned that the angst level will rise to unbearable heights and that we will just not enter the best places.