What a difference a day makes !
After the "interesting" couple of days I wrote about yesterday things changed a lot. It is amazing how much things change so much for no apparent reason even in the middle of the Atlantic in a boat with 11 "until-two-weeks-ago-totally-strangers"
Things are looking bright. Everyone is happy to see the TO GO counter going down quickly. We all realise that we have around 40 hours of sailing left to complete this challenge and everyone is eager to achieve it.
After reaching rock bottom sleep depravation in the last couple of days I have now transform into "sleeping beauty (not)". Yesterday I managed to sleep on deck for a couple of hours during the day, four hours on the bunk and another on the deck in the middle of the night....Well over 7 hours in a day. If it wasnt for the watch I am in now I would be sleeping some more... that's even after a coffee and a shower. Quite fitting on my part to learn to sleep on an ocean passage when I am less than 40 hours away from goal :-(
The night was good. It was peaceful with good 20-25 knots winds allowing us to clock over 10knots on a downwind run. Christian came up and we all had a laugh (and I also had a sleep watching the stars).
The morning appears to have been hectic (I missed it all - sleeping again). When I got up I heard that we had broken a spinaker sail with a big bang and that it was a real pain to collect the pieces from the sea on both sides of the boat. Add to that that we took the Genoa 1 down for repairs and we are now sailing only with a full main and a poled Genoa 4 while Tim and Tom fix and repair the Genoa 1 we need to add a couple of knots to our speed in these final hours. I think this Genoa 1 has seen its last Atlantic cruising but the sailmakers will tell upon arrival. The old kite is beyond repair after the bang this morning. This is what a big wave and intermintent gusts of wind can do to a spinaker !
Lunch was nice. Deborah prepared what I would describe as "Huevos Rancheros" with scrambled eggs, cold meants and vegetables. Everyone enjoyed that.
The afternoon is peaceful. The crew is sleeping or on a watch... peaceful atmosphere and a great sense of camaradery between people who until two weeks ago were totally strangers. This brings me to something I have been thinking about laterly: it is funny to think that we are always complicated to get one with aone another in normal life but you put people together on an advanture and people get on well. Is it the real need for teamwork ? Is it the sea ? Is it the respect for the task ahead ? Why can't it be this way normally in daily life.
Northern Child keeps sailing & surfing. Crew is well. Things are looking up.
More tomorrow
Adolfo @ Northern Child