The boom goes...well, BOOM

I didn't really feel like going sailing yesterday; I woke up with a sore throat and would have rather stayed home to write. However, some friends are leaving Mayotte on Saturday, and it was the last time we could take them out on the boat.  So, gathering good cheer to me like tattered raiment, I went with them.

Once we were under sail, everyone found a place to lounge on the deck. I decided it would be a good time to sneak in a few words. I retrieved my notebook from port hull and was counseled to lie down across the stern of the catamaran, behind the tiller bar. I had just moved a gas can out of my way and was getting ready to lie down when the boom swung around and whacked me squarely across the nose. I saw stars just before the tears flooded them away. I had enough presence of mind to lie down quickly before I lost my balance and went overboard.

That kind of accident can be fatal or extremely dangerous. I was lucky to come away from it with a scratch and a slightly swollen nose. The not-so-funny thing is just a split second before getting hit, I thought, Hurry, hurry; lie down. You never know when the boom is going to come around.

Here By Glimpses Known

 
A glimpse from Mount Benara. I spotted this hawk at the beginning of our hike. He paid us no mind as he was in the middle of tracking prey. He swooped into the leaf litter on the other side of the path just after I took this shot, but he came up empty-clawed. I sent our guidebook off in the shipping container and can't remember the exact name of this fellow off the top of my head. If my google-foo has not failed me, I believe it is a Frances' goshawk (or sparrowhawk).