Sabine - Sabine (118) ARC saily blog update - Mon 12 Dec 2022

Hello interweb friends, Captain Stape on sail boat Sabine right here (///crevices.readers.mists)
Day breaks, it’s Monday, it’s sunny, it’s getting hotter, the seas are calm(ish) and we’re barrelling along at 7+knots. Seems the wind picked up overnight. Is this, on what is probably our final full day, the almost mythical ‘champagne sailing’ we were promised 3000nm ago?
Pete the spinnaker is hoisted and we maintain a comfortable 7knots. The nav computer is finally giving us an ETA now that we’re less than 24hrs away: breakfast time tomorrow.
The microwave is still working, as the crew member whose not supposed to touch it warms up her lunch.
Jezebel is pushed into action. Richard comments that he’s really glad that device (the water maker) has proven reliable, and that he’s sorry to disappoint his pub quiz friends (big shout out to The Name-changers) who were warning him of having to resort to Blackadder/Baldrick measures to stay hydrated… But it turns out that John does have a bottle for such an occasion (Although, I’m glad to note that particular bottle is not here with us!)
There’s a relaxed feel to today as we can see the end is in sight. It was never in doubt, of course, but it’s good to know it’s now not far away at all. I think everyone is looking forward to a good nights sleep - even me. Maybe tonight, although I think there will be some excited crew members behaving like a kid on Christmas Eve and they might refuse to go to sleep. I just hope they don’t keep me awake - I want to look my glorious best for when we arrive!
The day is sailed quickly but the ETA changes as the wind slows down: we’re on track for lunchtime tomorrow now.
Polina reels in the fishing line to discover that another monster fish (we think) has taken the lure off somewhere else. So Kia makes up an ‘ugly lure’ to deter any fish as he knows Richard doesn’t actually want to catch any. Time will tell, but at the time of writing, nothing has been caught.
Spaghetti Bolognese and ice cream (not together, obviously!) is the main meal of the day. Polina insists it all has to be eaten, or it’ll be leftovers for us all tomorrow. Richard is only too happy to help reduce the amount of ice cream that’s left, but I think Polina meant that all the spaghetti had to be eaten.
Richard checks his deck shoes: still gaping at the front, but just 24 more hours, that’s all they have to last!
We pass through around 50 flying sea birds (which all look the same to Richard) diving and swooping to the water’s surface, hunting for their afternoon tea, chatting to each other, ignoring us.
Indiana John takes his final readings on the sextant, complete with signature hat.
It’s early evening and the sun is just starting to set when ‘Land Ho!’ shouts Kia as we start to pass Barbados. ‘Land no!’ Says Polina as the rest of us struggle to see what Kia is seeing. He has bionic eyes - able to see boats and land from a million miles away. The rest of us grab binoculars and spend the next few minutes peering through them into the distance, but eventually we all see land. The first land seen for over 3 weeks.
I start singing (squawking) ‘Oh, we’re sailing passed Barbados..’ loudly and joyfully. Hands come to ears again. Bah!
The nav computer should have picked up the fact that it can make use of the new Caribbean maps now. It should have, but doesn’t yet. Hopefully by tomorrow, but if not, then one of the multitude of backup devices will be brought into action.
ETA: in time for afternoon tea.
This will be our final night sail for this trip. I hope it goes without incident, and I really hope we all stay dry! (There’s no sign of rain, but you never know).
We’re all looking forward to getting there, especially Kia as it means he can purchase some more cigarettes! Richard did suggest a quick stop-off in Barbados, as it’s only 30nm away.
Beers and cider are put in the fridge ready for our celebrations tomorrow.
As I finish today’s blog, the sky is turning as crimson as my magnificent plumage. Hopefully, my interweb friends, I’ll be able to post up some action shots taken of me on the boat (oh, and maybe 1 or 2 of the crew as well I suppose), when we can use the marina WiFi.
‘Ugly lure’ update - no fish!
ETA: brunch.
This is Capt. Stape signing off with only 100nm to go! Ciao ciao squawk!