Our most sincere Arabian apologies dear avid readers, for we forgot to
write for the last two days; we have been caught up in our own world
on-board.
Hurrah! We are moving again! And fast! And downwind! And there are long
slowww drawn out Atlantic rollers. Hot Stuff and maidens are now as one.
Words could never justify the sensation of standing at the helm of Hot
Stuff, be it in the sunshine of day or under the star laden moonlit sky at
night. Today after a restless night of very low winds we have been soaring along
(Diamonds in the Rough came through in the end with a whopping 10 knots woop
woop as we write this!). She feels as though she is breathing; a quick breath in
as she is swooped up by a wave and then she relaxes with a sensual breath out;
the rigging resonates with a delicious hummmm as we slide down the back of the
swell. You can't help but smile at the fact that she is just as happy as we
are.
The maidens have been put through their paces with 36 hours of beating
upwind in thrashing seas. We have battled high winds. Our furling line snapped
yesterday morning - Nikki and Sarah ran to the rescue clothed in panties and
sports bras to the shock of the forepeak residents who had two dainty bottoms
peering down their hatch above them. Frantic sail changes to our heavy weather
jib. Starting out with calm clear directions on how to flake the sail as we drop
turned very suddenly into "Get this sail down ASAP" "Boydie - starfish on the
sail to stop it blowing away" "HOLD ON!!" - a very dramatic half hour.
Today things changed for the better with some well deserved R&R. We
have all had appointments with Dawn's salon and we are munching our way through
our fresh fruit and veg with some very yummy veg casseroles and Moroccan
curries. JC topped of our day with a tasty boat pressie with a bag of pick
n mix for each maiden. With e-numbers flying high we all feel a little giddie.
We also snuck in a cheeky casino session, placing our bets as to when we will
arrive in St. Lucia. We hope St Lucia is ready as we maidens are already
planning what fun antics we are going to get up to. Birthday celebrations on the
18th - save the date.
It feels like we have reached a mile stone today. We are learning more and
more about sailing, team work, weather and sea states. For this morning's
lessons the syllabus was rigging the pole. We met the only guy on the boat and
if you pull the guy back to you, you have to let the pole down off gently. We
can totally connect with this yachty lingo! With a relaxed downwind sail it is
clear that we are all - Hot Stuff and maidens - truly connected.
To set the scene... six sleeping maidens are all tucked up in bed while
three are on watch. We are sailing at speeds of at 8 - 10 knots. The sea fairies
flutter behind us as we move over the phosphorescence. Our sails are winged out.
The moon is directly above us lighting up the sky and the path to St Lucia. So
this is what it feels like to fly free. This is definitely what we all signed up
for.