Noon position: 19 degrees 33 minutes North; 38 degrees 24 minutes West.
We woke to a grey day and a weather forecast that predicted more of the same wind strength and direction for the next few days. Lumpy seas and squalls are to be our sailing conditions for the foreseeable future. When a squall hits, the wind rises and the rain batters down. Fortunately, Emily Morgan has a cockpit canopy so when the squall is imminent we roll down the clear see-through sides which protects us from the elements and then the fun begins. Those on watch wrestle with the helm trying to keep the boat on course. The wind howls through the rigging and sails thump with the pressure of the wind. The noise of the wake against the hull increases as the boat speeds even faster through the water and keels over then comes upright then heels over again. And on and on it continues while the squall lasts.
Below, the off watch crew try get some sleep in preparation for their next stint on duty. The berths all have lee-cloths. When the boat is heeling you need these to stop you falling out of the berth. They are long, wide lengths of strong material attached to the base under the mattress and then tied up at the foot and head at a height of half a metre to create a safe space for sleeping. Despite the lee-cloths, it's pretty difficult to keep wedged in when the boat is heeling and rocking and rolling. The other difficulty is moving around down below in the constant motion. Bones has fitted Emily Morgan with additional hand holds all around the boat so there is always something to grab onto and we abide by the mantra 'one hand for yourself, one hand for the boat' but, despite our improving sea-legs balance, we still bash and crash and fall. The latest competitions are who has the most bruises, Brody wins this with some colourful contusions, and who has had the most spectacular galley spillages, Alex, a basin of dishwater over himself, Clare, gravy into the cutlery drawer and muesli into her shoes, Elizabeth, a scattering of meat balls from the freezer onto the floor (sorry crew, didn't mention that before dinner!).
When we first hit squalls, we found it exhilarating and were glorying in the achievement of helming in the high wind speeds (Clare is current record holder with 51 knots of wind!) but after a few days the excitement has begun to diminish. However, we are buoyed by the knowledge that we are flying along and are likely to make it to St Lucia in a very quick transatlantic crossing.
Elizabeth
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