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Xplorer of Hamble - THEY SAID THAT THERE'D BE SQUALLS!



We are now over two thirds of the way – just 900 miles to go. We will have a bottle of Champagne tonight to celebrate. With current wind, we should get to St Lucia on Saturday, but you never know.

The sailing has hotted up in the last 36 hours. We have found ourselves in the windiest bit of thIs whole part of the Atlantic which is what we’ve been hoping for right from the start. However, its all courtesy of a Tropical Wave which is bringing cloud and lots (I mean lots!) of rain. The squalls come with the heaviest rain and mostly seem to happen at night. Every time they come the wind hits 30 knots on the leading edge (Force 7). At day you can see the squalls coming but at night we rely on the radar. The redder the radar trace the wetter and windier it is. When we know they are coming we put two reefs in the mainsail and the genoa and Xplorer takes them in her stride. She does sail superbly.

Along with the squalls, we have had some very hot and humid weather. Nothing in the boat is remotely Superdry and all is moderately damp at best. Deciding on the appropriate clothing to wear on watch has been a challenge. Should you put on full foul weather gear to keep the rain out but risk getting just as damp from sweating? Or go for the swimwear plus sailing boots option? Tony even got the shower gel and shampoo out and showered himself of the back of the boat in one 30 knot rain squall. Shutting the hatches during the rain results in the cabin becoming something resembling a sauna, and it is impossible to cook dinner without losing half a stone in sweat. Nonetheless we have not yet resorted to boil in the bag and the crew are still being creative in the galley, making curries from scratch, battered garlic prawns, and a reappearance of my personal favourite, fried rotting cabbage.

 As well as inventing new recipes, we continue to find a variety of things to keep ourselves amused as we go along. Anna has created an advent calendar in my cabin by numbering the cupboard doors and hiding treats behind them. This would be fine, except Anna insists on playing songs from the Michael Buble Christmas album as I search for the day’s door to open. There are plenty of incentives to sail faster to get to St Lucia sooner, but sparing myself from another day of Michael Buble is one of the more compelling. We all agree that being away from endless Xmas adverts and music is one of the best reasons to do the ARC. This morning Tom has also set up a new treasure hunt game for the rest of the crew to play – it involves finding the small but essential piece of the generator that he has dropped into the engine bay. We are thinking of sending Anna in via the locker at the back of the boat, through the steering cables and under the generator to get it. I’m sure she’d find a way out in the end.

Tin Tin the bear continues to have a whale of a time. He has taken a trip to the end of the spinnaker pole, been hung upside down by his feet from the saloon hatch, and very nearly gone for a swim in the ocean. He has had to be forcibly restrained with cable ties and duct tape before he tries that trick again. He disappeared from the boat for the whole of last night, but reappeared this morning sneaking into the cabin covered in lipstick and reeking of tequila. He claims he popped out to watch Strictly, but I find that a likely story.

 Peter Bamford and Anna who wrote the funny bits.


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