Greetings,
While the blog entry before had much more to do withthe extracurricular happenings on board Enigma, the following day started offwith great sailing.
With 15-20 knots of wind coming directly from behindus and a beautifully clear, sunny day, the conditions were ideal for our Lagoon420. For most of the morning, we were averaging 8 knots SOG (speed over ground)until the winds gradually slowed down. Though Boyan and Manel took advantage ofthis by perching themselves on the nets afore, the waves intermittently splashingtheir feet as the sun shined brightly, others were put into sailing mode.
Penaforte and Ze were at it with the sextant in orderto manually check our position. After heavy negotiations, they found that theircalculations had a margin of error of less than 1 nautical mile compared to theGPS. So if our electricity were to go down, we now know that we have atrustworthy alternate source for determining our position.
When the wind died down slightly, Manuel Sr. decidedto cap off a great morning’s sail by preparing his specialty – mushroomrisotto. He treated us once with this dish in Las Palmas, and we couldn’t wait tohave it again. After eating the delicious salad that Manel Jr. prepared –the last pack of lettuce we’ll enjoy for 3 weeks – a large potbursting with an aroma of mushrooms was swiftly placed in front of us. Though I’mnot sure the skipper wants to reveal exactly how he makes such a great dish, wewill let you in on one hint – using a good white wine in a risotto makesa big difference. Give it a shot!
On another note about food, the Mahi Mahi that Penawas able to catch is still awaiting its place on the menu – as we had nosuccess in catching another fish. On the contrary, we actually lost more thanwe gained by losing tackle in the big blue. If we don’t manage to catchanything in the next couple of days – we kindly request Manu to drop whathe is doing and find his way to Cape Verde. We may need our fisherman back –so maybe arrange a pick up?
By midday we had sailed about 270 miles since ourdeparture. We look to continue heading south towards Cape Verde for a couple more days (get here quick Manu!) andthen begin heading west across the Atlantic.
Keep up to date with our blog tomorrow -- as theremay be some things that have not yet been revealed on what is going on with theEnigma Crew (hint: Movember).
Until tomorrow,
The Enigma Crew.