Bolero - Day 6

Day 6

We all found the night tough, the cross seas made sleeping down below a challenge as it seemed almost impossible to jam yourself into a berth and not roll around. It was difficult to see the clouds in the dark. The only hint that they were there was the starless part of the sky. We had a few 25 knot winds under localised clouds, but no major squalls overnight. Bolero trucked along in the totally moonless night. We had one flying fish land on deck, Gwyn returned it to the sea.

It was good to see other boats reappearing on AIS as the night progressed. Dawn came as a relief from the darkness. We received an email from Falcon welcoming us back into the fold which was very touching. It’s great to know that others are looking out for us, as we are them. WCC rallies really do bring a camaraderie that is hard to beat as evidenced by rally boats shadowing Hanuman on the way to Cape Verde and Helgar on this leg.

Breakfast gave everyone the energy to face the new day and gybe the boat. We were a more slick operation than the previous day without any complications with the furling line. A celebratory glass of orange juice was called for, quickly followed by coffee and freshly made yoghurt cake. We do eat well on the boat.

Nick had said that today was to be a double gybe day, this was further confirmed when Kim from North Star invited us to follow them again. Their weather router, and the PredictWind forecasts both indicate that we should head more south to maintain the winds. We wondered if Kim was trying to form a convoy as he had similar radio conversations with other boats around us.

North Star radioed just before we were about to have lunch to say that they were gybing. As they were 13 miles ahead, we waited until after lunch to gybe. So we are back in Port, but thankfully at the moment the sea is much kinder and the movement of the boat easier to cope with, though Gwyn and Maz were both braced in the galley while chopping vegetables and fruit for tonight’s meal. Aubergine and sweet potato tagine and melon, apple and ginger salad for desert. We still have some fresh fruit: green apples, one pear and oranges, salad is still on the menu as the tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce are still passing muster. The vegetables have all been used now, so we are moving onto bottled or tinned vegetables tomorrow.

The drum roll distance at 11:00hrs Atlantic Adventure Eastern time was 1319 to the way point, 161 miles in a day. We hope to reach the half way point late tomorrow night, or early on Friday morning. We are all still pinching ourselves that we are sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.

Apart from the gybes, it’s been a quiet day on board, the crew are showered and have enjoyed the slightly cooler temperature.

We are hoping for a more comfortable night on board than last night so we can catch up with some sleep.

Fair winds
Nick, Maz, Ian and Gwyn