Hello All, from the Jubilant Mates aboard Jubilate Mare. Winds are blowing well now and the end is in sight.
Two weeks in and FINALLY we have the trade winds we had expected for the whole voyage. We now hope to arrive on the 3rd / 4th - good thing too as friends, Mark and Mary Lord, arrived on the 27th and go home on the 4th!! And to think when we set off with good winds (for one day only!) we did the projections and had thought we'd maybe arrive before they did. As Pete has often been heard to say "You can't sail to a timetable".
However, fortunately we still have other family and friends staying til the 10th so will he able to sample the joys of St Lucia with them. I, for one, am looking forward to galloping on the beach and riding in the sea again.
We have had a very pleasant, gentle sail most of the way (far too slow Pete says) and dined well on freshly caught tuna. The time between casting and landing was less than TEN SECONDS. We are surrounded by Tuna constantly, and we can see them just beside the boat.
The change in the wind yesterday caught us a bit by surprise and it was all hands on deck to deal with a twisted cruising chute. We are now 'wing-on-wing' on a direct course to our destination. Average speed now in the high sixes and lots of sevens. After the initial excitement of our flying start, for the next ten days we were lucky to see threes! We even wondered if we might end up spending Christmas at sea. We decided we wouldn't starve, but there'd not be much choice.
It has been (well, still is) an amazing adventure and I'm so pleased I have been lucky enough to be experiencing it. Quite something to have undertaken by someone who gets sea sick in the bath, and never thought they would be a sailor.
Our great crew are in good spirits as we count down the final, few hundred miles.
Next BBB (Bee's Boat Blog) will be when we complete our voyage. 🐝