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Hebe - 2nd Leg Day 2



04:40:06N
081:33:36W

Chugging along tonight having hit the Doldrums, but the past 2 days have been brilliant with a good breeze and able to sample a lot of Hebe's fancy wardrobe. WE all got off to a terrific start yesterday morning from Las Perlas everyone getting their spinnakers up on the start line, Hebe's got twisted much to our embarrassment. I was helming which is exciting.

Bit of a shock to be rocking and rolling again at sea staggering about in the galley trying to produce meals with drawers slamming, then getting back into the watch system at night. The first night always the worst, we haven't been to sea for weeks.

We all sailed happily down the huge Gulf of Panama where the water is green, full of silt from the canal, masses of plankton and fish, everyone chatting on the radio and fishing, we all enjoyed fresh tuna last night. Its great fun getting to know all the boats and we all have banter. Tonight though everyone is dispersed and we are once again alone on the vast ocean.

At about 10.30pm just when we all thought we could settle down to a great night sail, the wind got up as we rounded the final promontory of Panama with overfalls and big waves, and everyone started to broach, all hands on deck for some very noisy and hectic downing of the kites. Brizo the other Discovery blew hers, ours came down OK. Then today we surfed the waves whizzing along and later we tentatively tried the beautiful Parasail again and she flew fantastically, all repairs holding well.

Boiling hot in the afternoon though but it cools at night thankfully.
Now plodding through a dead doldrum patch but hoping as we get farther south we will catch some more wind.
Andrew has his usual 'first days at sea' headache, probably just cold turkey from all that rum.


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