Disa - SV Disa: Flocks of Flying Fish

As the days have gone by we have settled into a nice routine of watches and meals and relaxing in the cockpit. Darrol’s “car music” accompanies us as he strums away on his bass guitar, and our speed seems to be getting slower every day. We haven’t seen another boat for the past couple of days. The rest of the world seems very far away. We’ve become fascinated by seabirds gliding over the surface of the water, diving for a fish every now and then. The large number of little flying fish has been a real surprise - they look like flocks of swallows suddenly emerging from the sea and darting over the surface of the water for a hundred metres or so, before diving back under again. A couple have landed on deck.

The downwind sailing is very comfortable now, with gentle swells. We all (except Darrol) had a day of feeling a bit queasy when the boat was rolling a lot. Thankfully that’s behind us now. We have enough provisions to feed our crew for the next three months! Andy (a professional chef trained in French cuisine) is on cooking duty today, so we can be sure we will have delicious meals made with fresh ingredients.

With less than 200 nautical miles to go until our stop in Mindelo, the end of the first leg is in sight. The sailing conditions so far have been absolutely lovely - day after day of sunshine and bright, moonlit nights, with consistent wind much of the time.