We are still not quite used to the more sedate pace, that we should be
enjoying now. After all the 200 mile days we we had, we started to regard
that as the norm. Managing only 213 miles over the last couple of days
combined is a rather sharp contrast. We have about 1000 miles still to go.
At the current pace and including the benefit of the equatorial current,
that should take us about 8 days, for a total passage time of 20 days. We
started off with a goal of 21 days, so that’s not too bad, all things
considered. However, if you are on the half way mark after 9 days, the
logical adaptation of you expectation would lead to 18 days… Are we in a
hurry? No. Are we still having a good time? Yes. So, what’s the rush? James,
Brian’s son, veteran of a few of these crossings says it comes with the
game. You love to get there, but you also don’t want the journey to end.
After having translated Nelly Rose’s Dutch blog using Google translator he
came back to us after the one about us being a speck in the ocean and
thought we were getting quite philosophical by that stage. Seems it’s an
occupational hazard.
In the meantime we have had our 2rd crease beers and that certainly lifted
our spirits again. We still have room for one celebration before we get to
the 3rd and final crease, just before reaching St.Lucia, where we will not
limit ourselves to just one beer. It should be in about 3-4 days, but we
haven’t thought of a right memorable occasion just yet. As you may know, it
will not be because of catching any fish, but the less said about that, the
better. Any suggestions are welcome on the “Gastenboek” section of the blog.
Our Webmaster Pieter wil be delighted to relay them to us.
So, what about us. Hanneke saw a ship last night. OK, probably 10 miles off,
but it’s always nice to know there’s still somebody out there. We see
regular performances of schools of flying fish, managing distances of
probably 200 metres before skirting the water again. We were also treated to
a brilliant show of dolphins. A school of at least 30-35 including some tiny
youngsters. Four of them came past us in a really tidy formation ‘four
abreast’ managing at least 5-6 jumps before they disappeared ffrom vision
under our blue and white genaker.
The winds are light now, but reasonbly steady. We are sailing only with our
genaker as the main would bring little extra and would force us on a
slightly higher course. Besides, we don’t want to stress our damaged boom
vang when it isn’t necessary. It is by now quite hot. The water around us is
30 degrees and there is clear competition for places in the shade when we
are all in the cockpit. From the early afternoon, that’s no longer a problem
as the genaker put’s the entire foredeck in the shade.
On the foredeck we also enjoy our salt water showers. We shower with the 30
degree salt water and then go to the cockpit to rinse off with a little
fresh water. Very refreshing. The fridge copes all right, but at the expense
of copious amounts of electricity. It’s getting a bit too empty to store a
lot of cold, so we are going to fill it up now with all our remaining soft
drinks and juices and some other stuff. That should help us, because our
solar panels cannot quite keep up and we do have to run the engine at
regular intervals. Not bad, but not as nice as the sounds of sailing the
sea.
Now we’re going to have some lunch. After a first week of bread from the Las
Palmas supermarket and a week of pre baked bread, we’re now onto our freshly
baked bread. The best yet!