BattPack Log Day 15 - Dec 9th - I did the sunrise shift
which passed smoothly until 05.50 when what looked like a bright
green light shot across the sky from behind the headsail and then petered
out. All I could think was that it was a flare. I leapt out of my seat, took
note of our position, could see nothing more on the horizon, and switched on the
VHF to channel 16 to listen out for an emergency call. I woke up Jay to see what
else we could do. We shone a bright torch in the direction of the light but
could see nothing else. We sat and pondered what on earth it could be-
apparently not a flare, they don't come in green and they would travel with the
wind whereas the arc of the light was across the wind. We wonder if any other
Arc boats saw it? We will investigate more in St Lucia!
We were treated to a magnificent pod of dolphins this
morning! At least 50 of them! So sociable and playful! They danced and leapt
around the boat for a good hour! What a delight to behold! We were all
captivated! Dad played the harmonica throughout and we were whooping with joy!
We had all been wishing to see a big pod since day 1 and our wish came
true! We have some incredible photos and videos which we will post when we get
to St Lucia!
We thought we had a big catch on both fishing lines this
afternoon, but in both cases it was a large clump of heavy seaweed! If that is
such hard work to pull in, then god knows what a fish would be like!! Having
lamented the lack of fish in the catch again, we had a surprise at dinner. Quite
out of the blue, during our spaghetti bolognese meal in the cockpit, a flying
fish flew in, hit Liberty on the forehead, Jago on the arm and landed in
the middle of the table! We were all so shocked, many screams and yelps as it
flippered about speedily! After several attempts, Jay managed to pick the
slippery fellow up and throw the startled thing back into the sea. Then
Jago and Liberty both collapsed in my arms sobbing in shock! Bless them! Once
they recovered, we all had a good laugh about it! Not many little people have
been whacked by a flying fish which tried to leap into their dinner!
HolyMoly!
We have 700 miles left to go. Some strong winds forecast
so a lumpy last few days looks likely but St Lucia is an ever
increasing reality!