14:08.55N 47:18.59W
1430 GMT Tuesday 28th Nov 2023. 857NM to go.
Bit miffed this morning! I spent a good hour or so during my 0200 to 0400 GMT watch writing a new blog for you lot, all about the full moon and the stars above. Came to upload it this morning and it has disappeared into the ether. We are shutting down all non-essential power use overnight, to try and conserve the batteries, so Starlink goes too. As such the blog usually ends up in my Outbox, ready to go as soon as Starlink is reactivated, however this morning……. nothing there. Can I find it😖? So annoying.
So this is going to be about Nick’s salted and drying (the rest of the crew call it decaying) Wahoo that is now hanging from a noose tied to our boom. The good news is that it is downwind of the cockpit, but I’m not sure I’ve seen something quite so unappetising (OK the biltong that Ed & Nick made earlier that hung in the heads for days, didn’t make my mouth water at the prospects of chewing on it either). This fish, along with the remains of the Iberian ham that is strung over our stern, with just a trotter peeking above deck, must make Risque Business look a bit like a floating abattoir to all other passing animals and it is clearly warning them to stay well clear! That is probably why we’ve not had a bite on our fishing lines, nor seen a dolphin or whale for days now. Mind you, with the freezer pretty full of tuna, we don’t really need anymore fish, so the fishing department have hung up their rods and gone on holiday to Greece!
The decomposing Wahoo also brought about some major muppetry from the skipper yesterday. During the decay process, fluid from the fish (don’t ask!) drips onto the deck, along with copious dollops of salt that gets bashed off the fish, as it swings from it’s noose and into the vang! Well the skipper decides to get a bucket of water and flush this detritus off said deck ……. without closing the side windows! Said windows act like a drainpipe and funnel the water straight below and into the cabin. A shriek from the chambermaid below as water cascades onto the saloon cushions (the skippers berth thank god) and also the chart table. Now I have a deja vu regarding this type of folly, as the same happened on my boat, but with a slightly greater consequence, due to the main electric CPU control panel being opened and flooded, but it wasn’t the skipper waving a hosepipe around on deck! Well the only casualty aboard RB was the main monitor screen for Nick’s laptop. All else recovered well, including the laptop!
The wind has not returned yet, so I write this with the engine on and we’re making a good 6.5kts straight towards Grenada. This can’t continue, as we simply don’t have sufficient fuel to go all the way, but with only 8 to 11 kts of breeze and a rolly sea, our sails just flap and flog around. So for the time being, we’ll keep the engine on and at least its charging the batteries and we can run the water maker. Not sure the wind is going to get much better in the short term, but if we get a consistent 12+kts, we’ll get the sails out again and DB has a cunning plan to try flying the gennaker and Genoa at the same time! Hopefully we can harness more of that breeze.
We have just had the full moon, so our nights are bright but with an eerie light all about. As the moon sinks to the western horizon, just before dawn, we’re sailing down a sort of shimmering runway, with the moon light reflected off the water. It’s rather beautiful. The downside of such a bright moon is that only the very brightest of the planets and stars are visible - Jupiter, Saturn and Venus all there last night and of course our friend Orion is there too. But no Milky Way or the other trillions of stars that usually accompany us at night.
At midday yesterday, we popped a bottle of fizz as we passed the 1,000NM’s to go point - I know any excuse! As of now, we’ve got 852NM to go, so the miles are slowly shrinking. The welcome committee, RB’s WAG’s and Ed’ mum and dad, are now in Grenada waiting for our arrival and planning an arrival party hopefully! Joining them is our crew mate Patrick, who had to leave us in Mindelo due to ill health. He is on the mend and demonstrating the medical prowess of rum punch! He’s also got plenty of time to find “that” restaurant without the rest of the crew being dragged along behind him. We also want a proper beach rum shack as well please? Looking forward to seeing you bro - you’re missed!
Love and light to all xx