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Free Spirit - Thursday 12th December (Peter's Blog)



Free Spirit smashed her personal speed record today. Admittedly she was surfing down the face of a mountainous wave at the time but the breathtaking, and slightly scary, 12.2 knots was driven mainly by a vast expanse of deceptively thin, brightly coloured fabric called Parasailor. Expanded to its full extent by following winds it flies in front of the boat, like a kite, lifting the bow in the water and pulling her along at an impressive rate of knots,12,2 being the most extreme example so far. As David often reminds me, "Dad, if you want to go fast get a speed boat". But, nothing compares to ploughing through the surf powered by wind and waves alone. Normally, on Free Spirit, we get excited if she manages 6 knots. So, 12 is very fast indeed, and more than a bit exciting. 

This is what we had hoped for from the ARC; to zoom along downwind on the deep blue ocean propelled by our new Parasailor before constant, warm equatorial trade winds beneath starry tropical skies. However, as regular readers of our blogs will appreciate this has not been the reality. A series of storms in the mid North Atlantic has disrupted the normally reliable trade winds causing us to be alternately becalmed and subjected gales, torrential rain and energy sapping turbulent seas. But now, at last, with just a few hundred miles to go the trade winds are here and we are flying. At this rate and barring further untoward incidents we should reach the Caribbean island of St. Lucia this Sunday after exactly 3 weeks at sea. I can almost taste the ice-cold beer! Then we shall have to get to work repairing some of the damage inflicted upon our brave 'Free Spirit' during the course of protecting us from the elements and delivering us safely to our destination.  


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