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Freebooter - Day 21 - Sat 14th Dec



Only 328nm to St Lucia! At current speed, that is another 2 days. The last 3-4 have been ones of rapid progress with strong Easterly trade winds. However the downside has been big seas, making for tiring sailing and limited sleep. The thought of landfall is now very welcome!

Trying to capture the sea conditions on camera is frustrating. The photos do not do justice to waves and swell that are much higher than the cockpit!

No matter, the lure of the Caribbean is upon us, especially some swimming and rum cocktails. Exercise on-board consists of bracing oneself against the movement of the boat, and every task is twice the effort from on land.

Astonishingly, we are only now coming to the end of our fresh fruit and vegetables. Thanks to Annemarie's very careful preparations, and good advice from books and sailors, we have enjoyed a great diet including fresh salads and fruit. These have been mainly kept in net hammocks in the (temporarily out of use) forward heads (bathroom), except for the onions which have been hanging in a net bag suspended above the rear guardrail. The fridge and freezer are still well stocked, and we have yet to need to bake any bread. The loaves we bought in Las Palmas are still fine.

After the best part of 10 days without sighting any other boat, two ships appeared in the last 24 hours, and I suspect we may start to see other yachts as we converge on the islands. From having been towards the front of the fleet a couple of weeks ago, our position has continued to erode thanks to the days without wind and to reefing down at night. No matter, better to arrive safely. One of the fleet was dismasted yesterday, but fortunately within motoring distance of the finish.

So heading towards rum Painkillers at 7-9 knots ......!

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