Tuesday 3rd December – Day 9
Light conditions gave the crew aboard Pannikin another peaceful night and they woke to clear skies and smooth seas. It seems we get too much wind or it dies right down and we don’t get enough – that’s sailing. It did mean that we got the spinnaker out again for a couple of hours which made Andrew very happy. The progress has been very slow which is frustrating but everyone is in good spirits and we are still having fun. At the moment we have plenty of food and water on board so we are eating very well. Di even thinks she will have to go on a diet when she gets home! In the morning Steve baked some fresh bread rolls so we had bacon and egg rolls for lunch, then happy hour, followed by a nice baked chicken dish by Ange for dinner.
The highlight of the day was when the fishing reel started screaming off. The boat was brought to a halt and Steve reeled in a very large Mahi Mahi (Dorado or Dolphin fish).Andrew put on some gloves and knelt down on the transom to help land the fish, and when he lent out to grab its tail he lost his balance and fell in with it, much to the amusement of the crew! The look of sheer terror on his face when he popped up was priceless. We finally hauled Andrew and the fish onboard, took some photos and released the fish as we have enough food in the fridge at this stage. ( I’ m not sure we released the right one). It did take some time for the crew to stop laughing. Andrew was unharmed and off we went again on our merry way.
The afternoon saw the wind drop out so we were forced to start the motor to keep us moving. The forecast does not look good at this stage as light winds are predicted for the next few days. At this rate we might get to St Lucia in February sometime.