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Poespas - Rally day 4



Rally day 4

We are now all full converse with being cradled by the motions of the ocean, and in spite of a rolly night we managed to get some rest. Our watch system seems to work well based on an overlapping dual watch system, with 4 hours on, then 6 hours off. We appear to be getting sufficient rest every day although, depending upon the conditions next week, might go for a more flexible single watch system, once all the crew are used to the complexities of our very French Amel.
We are also getting used to spotting squalls early. This afternoon we had reefed in less time than you can say Bob's your uncle before being hit by gusts of up to 36 knots.
Until this morning we had been running with poled out genoa and mainsail on a preventer, but we then changed course SSW for our "butter melting" waypoint, and have been sailing under genoa and mizzen, giving us speeds of up to 9 knots. If we keep this up, yours truly as skipper is going to win the bet on total elapsed time to St Lucia!
Roger

Another 24 hours of over 20 knot winds, with a couple of squalls upto 35 knots thrown in for good measure. Heading about 210 degrees now to an approximate waypoint 20 n 25 w . where apparently the butter should start to melt , and we turn right…. Sorry, to starboard. :]
Food seems to be an important part of the day and we are doing ok, what with our fish catch yesterday. Eaten within 4 hours, and our daily bread making, which is also going well { getting good use out of my paul Hollywood bread book }…. I can recommend banana and muesli bread.
Vegetables have been an issue with keeping an eye on them as they seem to start to go off when you are not looking…. Which we are constantly…
Our cured leg of pork has a new home and is currently seen hanging from the end of the mizzen boom….hopefully it will still be there in the morning… I'll let you know.
580 miles so far
All for now Mike…..over

Andy s view day 4

Today marked the crossing of tropic of cancer. We continue our quest for 20N 25W and I can now take off my vest. It's not Mark Twain but it's still poetry.
Roger still maintains traditional methods of navigation. This melting butter thing is all well and good but I've checked the fridge 5 times today and there's no change so remain sceptical. Thank God roger doesn't have the same approach to meteorology. I can see him now checking the pine cones he has hoisted on the windward halliard.
Each day brings a new culinary dawn. Mike is indeed the master baker…. That's not a typo. His skill with dough is ingenious and he is intent on using the ingredients onboard to best effect. I think the lettuce and courgettes which will be on the turn tomorrow will test his ingenuity but I don't want to deter his creative spirit. Ellie's Polish influence is coming to the fore with 101 things to do with cabbage. She has created a bowl full of cabbage today that we have to wait until tomorrow to eat as it changes overnight. I await with eager anticipation with the rest of the crew but can't help feeling it will still be……. Cabbage. It's Axels mums birthday tomorrow. With typical Germanic preparation and planning he was rather hoping there would be a fuel station handy to buy her flowers. Perhaps we will sing happy birthday over the sat phone.
Flushed with yesterday's fishing success Mike went for the auto reeling mechanism today. Unfortunately as Roger explained the wind generator wasn't designed for that purpose. The trusty perros nobbler currently rests in the gunnels of the dinghy dressed like a union street whore in its sparkly purple, pink and silver finery. Ah the allure of a lure. Did you see what I did there…
Fortunately we have another.
That's me for now……out



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