Tue, 2010-11-22
2040 UTC
23’58.8N
19’48.6W
We are now settling down into our third night on the water. Jens and Erik are trying to get some sleep before their next watches. Phil, Tim and Tony are up on deck with Matt, and Ton and I are down below waiting for our next watch to start at 2100.
Seven boats were visible at breakfast time this morning. The last sail disappeared over the horizon early this afternoon. We are now all alone on the wide wide sea, aside from the dolphins that is. The first cry of “dolphins” at 0815 saw everyone emerge from their bunks. (We received another visit soon after lunch.) I wonder how soon the wonder will wear off.
Like most ARC boats, we have a fishing rod attached to the back of the boat. We’ve been trolling a lure and got one strike this morning ... in the form of Neva (a fellow ARC entrant) as she passed astern of us on a more southerly course. We decided to let her go and cut the line. We gather that other boats are having better luck.
While I can’t speak for the others, being woken up at 2350 after just over 2 hours of sleep has seen me struggling on to deck for the 0000-0300 watch asking myself “why am I doing this!?” Such thoughts disappear as the day progresses. The pleasures of watching the full moon set as the sun rises and lying on the deck in the shade of the spinnaker as the boat surges through the water are just two of the many compensations. It’s wonderful to be out here!
We’re all in good spirits.
Bruce