Hi! My name is Mathias and I will be posting Martins weekly-ish logs while he is at sea. I speak to Martin daily and if you by any chance want to get a message across to him you can send it to me at mathiasdellner@gmail.com. As he is sailing in solitude I know that any message, small and all, will be appreciated.

Day 5, 30/05/2020

Departure Mayaguana
Realize that the axle-shaft sealing is flushing the engine room with water when the boat is accelerating, as the engine is pushed forward and easing the pressure on the seal. Not good. I tightened it up, and it works, but should be replaced soon.
Hoisting the genoa and sailed the 30min it took through the reef, when the wind died 100%. I`m restless and got some nausea because of the seasickness plaster. The ocean is flat, so I removed it, just makes me feel crap.
Check-in in on the DooDah/ Transatlantic cruisers HF-net, and get the weather report with Chris Parker; Trying to get north of 32N by Thursday to catch a weather system going eastwards.

Supersweet dinner; Bacon, potato, coconut mash and fried plantain cakes for dessert.

Plantain (or banana) cakes recipe;

Mash two large, super-ripe plantains inside their peal and squeeze them out.

Add honey, egg, three spoons of flour, salt, cinnamon, vanilla and coconut oil (optional; ginger, chilli, nutmeg).

Fry in coconut oil (one spoon-cakes)- epic$$

Played some sax and watched an episode of Billions (great stuff!) before sleep.
No activity through the night, but;
When I woke up around 04.00, the moon had set, and the great cosmos was swarming all around me; the milky way was 3D, shooting stars, great thunderclouds in the distance with frequent lightning and a stream of light around and after the boat in the pitch black invisible water (Milky sea effect/Morild); what a firework! Chilli was sailing through a galaxy!

103nm/ 24h

Day 6; 31/05/2020
Woke up by the autopilot alarm saying we are off course; the anchor for the driver-arm had loosened in the deck. Hand-steered while the epoxy hardened about an hour. Dead silent, 20-30m long gentle waves.
Filled four cans of diesel on the tank. Messy work.
Cleaned the deck, and had a swim
A bit of Northerly winds in the evening and through the night. Full sails and an extra knot.

102nm /24h

Day 7; 01/06/2020
Woke up of a dream where Chilli was anchored on the upper side of a waterfall, on a lake. The tide turned and Chilli drifted over the edge, and was hanging in the anchor chain halfway down, but I had a plan on recovering her as long as the anchor held. A voice called on me, which I always get when I should wake up for some reason. The minute after I got up, the AIS alarm went of. A sailboat on the horizon.
Stopped the boat, swam some rounds around the boat, checked the engine and filled oil. That silence, on the dead calm sea and early morning, after running engine non-stop for 48 hours, my gawd.

111nm/ 24h

Day 8; 02/06/2020
Blowing up to 30knts and later 38knts with changing wind direction and extraordinary messy seas. I got seasick, ate a bag of banana chips and started throwing up. It didn’t stop until 20.00. No food or water, very tired.
Blasting Opeth and singing loud kept some life in me!
First full day in 18months I’ve used a sweater.
Focus on not going west

96nm/ 24h
Day 9; 03/06/2020
Finally calmer seas! Exhausted after yesterday. Good sail, and finally some eastward progression.
Got some nasty rash after yesterday. Boiled up some Chaga/Ginger/Ashwagandha coctail, hope it works.
Food tastes awesome after 36h fasting; small pot of rice with a couple of eggs, half onion and a can of sardines.
94nm/24h

Day 10; 04/06/2020
Another good day of recovering. Cleaned the boat and got myself a good freshwater shower, and filled the water tank.
Turned off the engine defiantly as I can’t get to Bermuda before the heavy weather hits. Just got to stay south of 30N to not get hit, and sail on the outskirts of the system in three days. Going to go slow for some time.
Finished first season of Billions”, want more.
Dreaming of Napoleon cake..

49nm/24h sailed
18nm progression

Day 11; 05/06/2020
Dead silence. Drifted in a circle throughout the night, progression of 18nm the past 24h, and doing between 0.5 and 2.5knts with all sails up. At least now in the right direction, crazy. Its not even anything steering the boat; the tiller just stays bit tilted to the side by it self.
Fresh bath this morning, the sea is getting a lot colder and fresher up here.
Some maintenance on the “heart interface” (electronic-system monitoring unit), the electric gas valve and some surgery on a speaker.
The rash (Hives/Elveblesten)  is gone!
Wish for some wind soon, in this speed it will take 85days to reach Norway…