00.30hrs The skies are cloudy and the moon is all covered up, the wind is 27 knot from behind and we also have the benifit of a 2 knot current.
03.00hrs The wind is still holding up, and we have plenty of big sea's, that's the good thing about the trade winds, they usually blow from the same direction and roughly the same speed every day, 20/35 knots, sometimes of course, a little ( LOT ) more and sometimes a little less.
09.00hrs We tried in vain the get the SSB working, but we think all it needs is a code typed into the unit and then we will be in business. However we were still close enough to the rest of the fleet to get them on VHF...... we were all within a 30miles radius of one another.
It's fantastic to look at our charts and see all the places we are passing and sailing through, places we never heard of and would nerer hear of, except for this extrodinary trip. I even surprise myself from time to time.
12.30hrs Distance travelled.............................170 n miles. ( in 24 hrs )
Distance remaining............................660 n miles
Wind................................................25 knots ESE
Sea .................................................moderate to rough
Weather...........................................clear, hazy and humid
14.00hrs The wind was getting steadily lighter, so we set up all the spinnaker before hauling Niall out og the scratcher to put it up. Today, we are going to fly our favourate Kite the 2600sq, foot parasail... yes its a big sail for us.
15.30hrs When we had the KITE flying and doing a nice steady 8.3 knots. Aileen did a light lunch. The afternoon was spent relaxing, reading, sunburning, and showering. Showers are great in this sticky climate, and especially now that
we can make 160L per hour. No shortage of water.
18.35hrs We are at sea now 30 hrs, we have sailed 211 n miles, averaging 7 knots. Shortly after, we passed a huge hammerhead Shark, what a monster.
19.30hrs We had a G&T in honour of " Fats " today.
20.00hrs We had dinner in the Starlight Restaurant cooked by Aileen. It consisted of rolled stuffed chicken, roast potatoes, and green beans. It tasted yummy! No more drink, we are at sea and skipper insists only ONE when we are night sailing.
The moon was shining brightly in the sky, and we were really enjoying the night sail with the KITE flying, the wind had increased to 2024 knots and we were doing a good steady 9+ knots. The most impressive thing about this sail (as we said before) is its stability. It really keeps the boat rock solid, no matter what the wind is throwing at us.......
That's all for today.
Signed :- Stephen Hyde (Skipper)