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Milanto - Log Day 11 - Hot Hot Hot + bring out the toys



Day 11
It's hot in the The Tropics. Especially in a yacht where we are obliged to keep the windows closed due to the disturbed weather. Whoever disturbed it has a lot to answer for I can tell you.

We're over half way there now. Clearly we don't know exactly how far we will ultimately have travelled in this passage until we arrive, but we have now sailed 1,556 miles on our journey so far, and as the total is
likely to be no more than say around 2,800, the maths will tell you, we're over half way. We still don't know when we will get there, but it is likely to be in around 7 days (give or take a day or so).

Nothing to report from last night. All went without incident. B Watch were rained on momentarily, we were not.
The stars last night were fabulous, the second real night of clear skies since we began our journey. The moon doesn't rise until about 11.00 at the moment and so this means that things are very dark until then leading a great night sky. The wind was pretty perfect and we made good time.

Our rudder managed to snag a length of fishing line with a net attached and some other flotsam. We gave up trying to free it in the end hoping that it would simply become detached. Our attempts at fishing today
drew a blank. We had decided that we wanted to try and snag a tuna and this meant a deeper line. In the end we pulled in a lure, which had been bitten in half by something with very sharp teeth. We'll try again tomorrow with something different.

With the weather settled and the boat so hot, I think the feeling of restlessness has started to kick in; cabin fever. We've had a pretty solid period of 7 days hard conditions and after a day of relative relaxation we are all looking for the next thing. This has come in the form of hoisting the spinnaker. For those unfamiliar with the sail, it is basically the large one, often brightly coloured, which you see at the front of yachts out at sea. It is potentially an extremely difficult sail to manage, requiring constant 'trimming' from the crew to obtain the best results. It is easy for it to go horribly wrong and for the sail to collapse into the water, only to catch on something it shouldn't and get pulled under the boat. This usually spells curtains for the sail (very expensive) and the crew (very painfully at the hand of the skipper). We sailed on at around 9 knots using the spinnaker until around 6:45 when it was pulled down to set up for the night.

The crew are coming together more now, the weather and acclimatisation to the routine means the demarcation between the two watches has blurred. We spend time together sitting on deck chatting about this and that and simply watching the sea pass by. I am surprised by the lack of visible wildlife so far. I'm not sure what I was expecting really, but I did have in the back of my mind that there would be more. Clearly the absence of big game is not a surprise, but I don't know, we could have had something out of the ordinary, there is still time. I had declared yesterday to be whale day and that we were sure to be visited, most likely close at hand. Cameras should be available. I now realise they must have a spy in the camp, forewarned is forearmed. I intend keeping
quiet on the matter when I next get the feeling they are nearby.

We are an unlikely clan A Watch. But a clan we are. We have been precisely in sync with one another for 11 days, day and night. You sort of learn things about each other in that time. What people are really like. There has not been a single cross word. Michael is the 'growinglad' of the team, despite being 31. The guy who never seems to have food far from his thoughts, despite being as fit as a whippet, or maybe because. He has become our champion driver, known for his accuracy to the course, and is now known as Schumacher. He has inspired our catchphrase of 'Every Watch needs a German'. Josh is our Swiss army knife, seemingly having good skills for almost everything and as dependable as that same country's trains. He is a thoughtful, intelligent and interesting guy who's enthusiasm for whatever he is doing is clearly the foundation of his success in life. As for me, well sadly I'm the old man of the group, being I suspect at least 20 years older than both, but us old guys have a role too, I do my fair share, I can pull a rope like a young'n.

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