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Swan Valhalla - Log 9 - a birthday catch!



After our swim last night everyone was ready for a drink and some delicious Foccacia and Jamon nibbles. Following this Yoyo cooked a sterling three course meal of gazpacho, chicken and lamb koftas with quinoa and baked apples for pudding. The cooking standard is getting higher by the day!
 
We kept motoring until about 10pm when the wind began to pick up. Victoria, Sam and I did the shift from 10 until 1am and saw some amazing dolphins swimming in the phosphorescence - very difficult to describe such a spectacle! They stayed near the boat for a long time, ducking and diving and hunting their supper! 
 
At midnight Nick came on shift, and we sung him a happy birthday - he had a very enjoyable early morning birthday sail and saw yet more dolphins. The wind continued at a steady 10-12 knots for most of the night. There was considerable cloud cover and by dawn it began to rain. The wind died and we switched the motor on for about an hour at 10am. Nick jumped at the reduced speed of the boat to get his fishing rod out once again - Haig said it would be his lucky birthday day and he would catch a fish. Sure enough, about an hour in, the reel went at the stern of the boat, and Nick reeled in a large tuna. This called for some more fresh sashimi with soy and wasabi. Meanwhile Yoyo and I baked a seed loaf, just a casual day aboard Valhalla! Yoyo did a super job of gutting the tuna which awaits in the galley for our supper tonight. The weather is cloudy with little wind - a perfect opportunity to catch up on some reading and Matt's spectacular skiing videos on his iPad!
 
The spinnaker was hoisted to try and catch some wind but it didn't last long as the only way we could catch it meant that we were heading  towards south Africa...no wonder Haig was keen to keep going. The motor is now back on and there are more delicious smells coming from the kitchen ready for Nicks birthday dinner...I think Tuna steaks and Banana bread is on the menu!
 



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