can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Hot Stuff - The tales of nine - Wednesday 3rd December - BIG DAY



Writing this at 23:00 on 03/12/2014, two hours ago we officially reached the half way point on our Atlantic chart.

Before we set sail we imagined this moment to feel scary; us on a wee boat bobbing around in that big mass of blue. But now we are here, in the moment, it is not scary at all. It feels safe and comfortable and totally fulfilling. We are all content to be living in our own Hot Stuff world.

Our half way party is planned for tomorrow as today was overtaken with TLC - for the maidens and for their trusted chariot.

We began at dawn by sending baby monkey up the mast; there were a few niggles that were playing on our skipper's mind so up she climbed for a full rig check. All hands were on deck proving what a great team we have become. To those of you who are watching us on the yellow brick tracker and wondering why we stopped in our tracks for a few hours - we ended up dropping both of our sails. So to explain: the main sail was chafing a little on the top spreaders so skip cushioned that all up with some sponge, and taped up the sail for extra protection. A couple of the sliders which attach the main to the mast were a little worn - but nothing a good olde needle and thread couldn't sort out. Then a little tightening up of the furling gear and shackles for the foresail. Other than that our skipper was happy to report that the wings of Hot Stuff were ready to fly once again. Before we knew it both sails were back up and we continued on our journey.

Hot Stuff had a little treat - and so did we - the FIRST SHOWERS OF THE JOURNEY were undertaken today! There's no better morale booster than a bit of personal R&R with a good scrub. Slightly different to the average shower that you might imagine: begin production line -
heave bucket of water out the sea
decant water into bowl
pour bowl of water over head - about 50 bowls needed per shower
try to stay on-board during processspend next hour after cleaning all hair off the decks - all the beautiful long locks we have result in industrial moulting!
Seawater, lots of shampoo and conditioner, hairbrushes, moisturizer, you name it - has never felt so good.
Other highlights of today include Marlys discovering an exploded milk carton while performing her daily bilge checks. It must have been her sensitive sense of smell that helped her decide that perhaps this time she wouldn't taste the water.

Our scrumptious dinner of mushroom, bacon and pea risotto went down like a storm. And to finish our day off  - home cooked flapjacks for pudding.

Baking has begun. Daily showering. Life at sea is starting to feel almost normal. Our family is bonding in our new found home.

Previous | Next