Personalities on board

14:15UTC 03/08/07 50'11.7N 003'43.7W

Many long distance solo sailors report visitations by characters on board, often appearing during a storm. We've not quite got to such 'altered' levels of consciousness, but there are still plenty of personalities on board.

Ty Dewi is the main one, of course. She and I are jointly charged with looking after our crew, keeping them safe, warm and fed. And if I don't do my bit, she has to just keep on working. In return, I feed her oil and diesel and take care of all her needs. It's a nice relationship.

And there are a host of supporting characters.

Gertrude: Our engine. Not actually germanic, but usually dependable and uncomplaining, as long as we check her fluids daily and treat her with a little consideration.

Georgina the pissed off chicken: Our autopilot. Autopilots have been called George since at least WW2 but ours must be female. Her main working part, the hydraulic pump, sits in the stern and moves the rudder with a bwrrrrrrrk bwk that has convinced us that she will shortly produce an egg. She steers pretty well too, almost all the time.

Badger: Our dinghy. The rubber dinghy is our car. It's how we get ashore, visit the beach, get the shopping, and so on. For many years our banter has used 'badger' as a universal noun. 'Ferret the badger' meaning 'get the thingamabob'. Badger hangs off the back of the boat waiting for us to stop, when she springs to life and bounces up and down at the end of a piece of string waiting to be allowed to run ashore.

Ferret: The outboard engine. Ferrets the badger.

Basil: The basil plant. Pronounced in a Fawlty Towers voice, Basil swings from a hook in the saloon and is much happier now that he has been liberated from Mr Sainsbury's gaol and is regularly fed with fresh water. In return, he provides a few leaves for any salad or pasta dishes. We aim to keep him alive until the Canaries, after which he will have to be sacrificed as he won't survive the 'dry season' when we leave the boat there.

We have crew as well, they come and go according to need and wish but the others live on board and help us along the way.

All well. Almost at Plymouth. N.

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