Indian Summer - Indian Summer Day 6: mixed fortunes

Its an easy day today: lying here in sunshine with consumptive crew sounding as if they have created the NE 4-5 winds with ceaseless coughing. All except Lizzie are taking antibiotics but we are deceptively well (Lizzie, though not seasick, is probably near suicidal listening to the expectoratons drowning out the sound of the waves). We haven't touched tiller nor sails, on a broad three sail reach, since teatime yesterday.

Yesterday wasn't so good: an idyllic Wednesday night, gently trailing a blue-nosed, bulbous spinnaker under the stars, ended with a pre-dawn burst block, sheared guy, lost shackle and brand new parasailor torn by the shrapnel in three (thankfully small) places. Several hours repair work proved to be successful but winds have risen since and full trial postponed.

The parasailor spinnaker is brilliant but I should have suspected it would have a kick in the tail when an alert crew member noticed, after the first hoist, that the name and icon were upside down. Thankfully this proved to be the manufacturer's inverted transfer as not even I am unskilled enough to hoist a spinnaker upside down!

The fleet appear to be progressing steadily down the tradewind route to kiss the Verdes before turning right, a depression and light winds discouraging early westing. This, so far as I know from routine radio position checks as today, day six, we see no other boats for the first time, though sailed alongside the tall ship training vessel "Astrid" - from Holland bound for the Caribbean - for the whole night. They told us they have 18 trainees aboard. I hope they are not all coughing synchronously!

Two Dorado (correctly spelt, unlike the short, fat, ugly, Mussolini-like Benito/Bonito of last log) decided to join us aboard for supper this evening, sufficient to complete a good sized meal for four. Glyn's irresistible lure comprised a rubber octopus wearing a Hawaian skirt of foil strips from a wine-box bladder. Fortunately the Dorado's taste is superior to it's apparent intelligence or sexual proclivities.
Dic