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Ximera - Day thirteen - Hold tight!!!



13∞58.51 N - 34∞23.50 W --> 14∞18.61 N - 37∞13.56 W

In the night, at about 0400, the wind became stronger and we started to make a good turn of speed, running from the waves of a confused sea that at that moment did not bring big swells.

Our trip log recorded a top speed of 13.3 knots and an average of 8. Our bow is still pointed to St. Lucia, finally we can shout out loud all together: 'atlantic trade winds'!!! The day goes fastslow as usual ...? What do I mean? Each day seems slow as we are travelling at a maximum of about 10mph and plenty of time to do nothing; then at the end of the day you celebrate how much has been done and how much we have achieved.

So when we go faster, what do we do with our time?

There is a daily rota of cleaning ... clean the loos, empty the bins, wash the cockpit down, sweep the salon/galley floor, wipe down the solar panels.

There is always one person on watch during the day; and in pairs at night.

Then there is maintenance Everyday we do a full inspection of the decks, rigging and sails to make sure nothing has broken (often spending half an hour discussing whether something was like that beforehand or not!!), running the generator to recharge the ship's batteries and any other devices that specifically require 220v mains, checking the bilges (the space beneath the floor boards for you non-sailors) for water. Plus we had close to half a tonne of food on board so that requires regular inspections, auditing and if any of the fresh stuff is going bad we have to use it for that day's meals.

Then there are the emergencies!!!

Today's 'miss-a-heartbeat' moment was seeing a small rip appear near the top of Jenny the gennaker. All hands on deck.

We quickly rolled her away and made all the lines safe then carefully lowered her to the deck. On closer inspection it's a stress tear of about 14 inches across the top of one of the panels. We carry several rolls of self-adhesive sail material for just such a moment but it still requires care and consideration.

A brief discussion helps formulate a plan of action. Not only does the tear need tape but perpendicular lines either side, on the seams, and a final longer perpendicular strip to add strength. It ends up looking like an 'H' with a third vertical. And this has to be done on both sides!

Meanwhile, as the gennaker is down, Skipper Will wants to run the halyard to the cockpit in a different route and cut one metre off the end where it has frayed ... and add a sacrificial sheath over it ... and ... and ... and !!! Maintenance never stops on a boat.

One of the skipper's mentors in sailing once said to him "the only time you don't have a boat maintenance list is when you don't have a boat!"

Hand in hand with the boat care the main topic of conversation is food. How will that day's chefs be exciting our taste buds? What type of bread are we baking?

And then we have a slightly diverse range of tastes, food fads and allergies which often means three different dishes all from the same basis and with the same carb as the bulk.

Will Giacomo be placating us with pasta?

Mike might excite us with his risotto recipe?

Can Simon make something simple? His culinary talents are amazing but Piers has to wash up for at least an hour afterwards!

Michelle does a mean mash ... with garlic, olive oil and mustard.

And that ... added to listening to music, reading books, philosophical discussions, endless laughter and mickey taking, navigation and writing blogs is a very normal day on Ximera.

xx



Birds eye view

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