La Cigale - Day 8 - 26 November - Sun sets on a calm day

Today I'm writing from a rippling millpond as the sun sets, amber and gold reflected in swathes of satin. Speaking of material, we got our gennaker sail out again - the one from AMARONE that we ripped - to see if we could repair it. It would be fun to have a sail larger than the jib out at night, but we don't want to risk our own bespoke gennaker. We got the sewing kit out, but the rip is huge - about 15m in length - and frayed. Xavier tested duct tape on a section. It seemed to hold but would require about 50m in all, effectively our entire stock of duct tape, which we are loathe to use if not for an emergency. The sail is now back in the bag and stowed away for now.

We caught another mahi-mahi today fishing. A little one, so Harley kissed it (much to the kids amusement!) and released it back into the ocean, and instead for tea we feasted on another cinnamon & ginger fruit loaf using the last of our bananas.

The wind from behind, currently around 3 knots, feels as though it is picking up, and we are hoping this heralds in the start of the trade winds, catching tomorrow morning if all goes well. Red sky at night, shepherd's delight. Here's hoping...