Resolute of Thames - DAY 6 (sssh! whisper it!)

I'm not sure we should even be admitting we are now sailing a sixth day and that what's more we will probably be needing its entirety before we find Mindelo (and thus missing our own welcome party tonight). It was all going so well! Last night the wind dropped and started doing a variable dance ensuring our trusty poled out genoa with alongside jib rig which we had not had to touch since leaving Las Palmas was rendered incapable of the task. At midnight it was decided that what was needed was to drop the jib, un-pole the genoa and put up the mainsail....mission. 30 minutes later (be charitable...only two of us onboard remember) mission was accomplished and much neglected full main was put into service along with the full genoa. One vital ingredient was missing from this nocturnal party - the wind. Whilst exhausted Skipper slept, Gilly-Mate watched the now unhelpful easterly wind drop and sails flap despite her trying to keep the bow into what wind there was whilst staying somewhere near the rhumb line. Eventually, after a long but fairly nautical mile free 3 hours, when the wind speed and direction was so lamentably contra to our destination I awoke Skipper (brave woman indeed!). Expecting him to say...." well, enough is enough, we will have to put the gonk (technical term for the engine) on for a bit.."I was still hopeful at this point that we might make it to the welcome party. Instead doubty Skipper said "OK, lets pole out the headsail again and goosewing....no engine for Gilly-Mate...we will not make the party. We must have made a pretty sight slowly goosewinging along in the early hours covering the uncharacteristically grey ocean at 3 nm. The Skipper was left on his watch to tweek the rig further to try to wring a few more miles out of the pathetic north easterly breeze.
So here we are still, half way through our last morning on Leg 1 making very slow headway but bolstered by the puritanical sailing mantra that engines are evil and to succumb to them is the greatest sin imaginable. The result oh Land-lubbing reader, is that Cinderella (aka Gilly-Mate) will not get to the Ball!