At anchor Calita Brecknock, Peninsula Brecknock
Weather: Mostly sunny, with some snow, rain and hail. Cold.

After yesterday’s long, cold and rough sail I gave the crew a make and mend. For the non-nautically inclined this is when a captain gave his ship’s company an afternoon off to wash and repair their clothing, or just relax if they wish. Today BC and I had a good sleep in, for breakfast a nice large hot bowl of porridge with honey and cinnamon on top and a good strong cup of tea.  After breakfast I dismantled the V-berth for a much needed airing and pulled some stores out of the “pantry” underneath the V-berth.  With the living quarters in disarray I then went for a short walk ashore to inspect a nearby lake which I have to say wasn’t overly impressive being bit on the small side, but certainly the rugged surrounds were imressive. We are contained in a small basin with only a narrow entrance, large granite mountains surround us on all sides, starkly bare of vegetation, only the occasional crevice having anything bigger than a small shrub growing from it. And now much of the ground is covered in snow. Many of the smaller stands of water are starting to freeze over. It was cold and I am feeling very conscious of the need not to injure myself out here alone, so kept the walk short and returned to the relative comfort and security of Sylph. My injury consciousness has been brought on by a minor injury I have sustained to my right hand a few days ago. I do not recall how I did it, I suspect falling upon it while hiking. Fortunately it is only mildly incapacitating, I can still pull on lines etc, but certain movements are quite painful, pulling a glove on over it or turning a screw driver for instance, typing is only mildly painful. From here I figure there is not much I can do but listen to the pain and be careful not to allow any further mishaps if I can help it.

This afternoon I had a look at the HF radio receiver to see if something simple might be causing the poor reception. I found a loose connection in the aerial input line but I don’t think this is going to make much difference. We will see later when the next weather fax is due in.

The heater is on, and I am looking forward to a hot meal (pasta tonight so BC might score a bit of tuna), and an early night. Hopefully the weather will be good tomorrow for a nice sail.  If so we will try to make an early start.

All is well.

Bob Cat:

A day of peace and rest at last, everything has remained still and upright, but my sleeping quarters have been pulled apart. Always some damned thing! And it is cold,though the heater is on early today, which makes a nice change. No change in the hard tack though. I resort to my usual solace … zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.