Glenn Wakefield is circumnavigating the world. He left BC three weeks ago and is currently a few hundred kilometers south of Hawaii.
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Day 58 Crossing 180 Antimeridian 29/10/13
Position: 40.46 S, 178.33 E
We are becalmed at noon for the second straight afternoon. This is a roly-poly affair that I hope does not last a minute longer but will probably go on for an hour or so till the wind fills in. As you can tell by the lat and long we are moving slowly but steadily further south and west.
You may also notice that we are now heading East instead of West because we crossed 180 degrees West yesterday.
(Note: 180 degrees is marked as ‘Antimeridian’ on the Google Earth map above). We will continue going East till we get to Greenwich Meridian at which time we will be going West once more. The other significant milestone is that the Great Southern Ocean is defined as being south of 40 degrees, in which case we are now in the Great Southern Ocean! Becalmed in the southern ocean not what I thought but give me a few days and that will all change. It’s interesting that I’ve seen seaweed and wood, branches and chunks of wood over the last few days as well. I can imagine Captain Cook also would have noticed that as he came upon New Zealand for the first time in the 1700s.
The birds are always in view these days as well. While becalmed we drifted passed three Petrels in the water squawking at each other and poking their heads in the water for a minute at a time as if one of them had dropped his keys and was looking for them. West Wind was only 20 feet away but to them we may as well not have existed. It is a bit chilly on board now and I keep the main hatch closed most of the day and all night. West Wind seems to have lots of air circulation though. It is a small space to spend my days in but very comfortable. At night when I lie in my bunk with just the low light of the GPS illuminating the cabin and the night light of the stars shining through the port lites it is magical, especially with the sounds of us sailing through the night ocean. I feel alone often out here on West Wind II. It is not a crippling loneliness but more a feeling of how remote a place I am sailing in. It is an astonishing, beautiful place at night.
I am up every night and when I open the hatch and take those few steps up the companionway and poke my head out to check the sails I am usually faced with a sky full of bright twinkling stars with passing dark clouds or the moon in one of its many stages. It is very seldom pitch black and even when it is there is beauty in its haunting darkness. The sea has many sounds as well. The sounds while below decks is completely different from what’s heard on deck. Over time you begin to decipher the sounds below into what is going on deck and most times you are glad you’re in your nice warm bunk.
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As Glenn sails solo around the world, thousands of people will log on to the site daily to check his progress and read about his experience. Like his previous circumnavigation attempt in 2007-2008, kimchowaroundtheworld, many will reach out with questions and comments. And, like last time, Glenn will provide answers and comments as time permits.
To follow his progress on this trip simply visit his website.
From those ‘conversations’, we found out they came from countries around the world and from all walks of life. They’re all ages, married, single, retired, working, men and women, students, and some with children. Many have a keen interest in sailing and boating and extreme adventures of one type or another. And many, are ‘armchair adventurers’ as they describe it, who vicariously enjoyed the adventure from the comfort of their own home.
What they all had in common was a keen interest in this adventure, Glenn’s commitment to fulfill his life’s dream, and his daily experience as he battled to complete his goal.
In 2007-2008, the kimchowaroundtheworld blog saw more than 50,000 visitors from 109 countries on the site. The majority of them visited daily. In addition, we received thousands of messages of support and well wishes.
In 2013, we expect the same if not more people logging on to follow Glenn’s progress and witness his experience as it unfolds.
To follow his progress simply visit his website.
To find out about opportunities for your organization to have a presence on the site by sponsoring Glenn on his circumnavigation, please contact MaryLou at mlwakefield@shaw.ca.
We’ll be checking in every now and then as Glen makes his way around the world.