BattPack Day 1- 25 Nov - We leave Las Palmas as part of
a grand parade. We all dress in Rainbows and sing along as Dad plays the
rainbow song on his guitar! The sun is shining and the boat is loaded with
anticipation of what lies ahead! The start gun sounds at 12.30 and we are off!
Today is spent in the company of other boats but as the day draws to a close, we
realise it may be the last time that we see any of them, or land until we near
St Lucia!
Jay has made up a yummy pasta sauce in advance and we
feast on a delicious prawn pasta for dinner. Liberty says she is tired and feels
funny, I take her to her bunk and she is promptly sick all over her duvet.
Urghhh! We have all been taking anti sea sickness tablets since a couple of
hours before we set sail. The idea is to take them for 3 days and aver the
perils of sea sickness. Alas with Liberty it didn't work! Happily the sickness
was shortlived and she went to sleep shortly after.
We divvied up the nightwatch and set the rota for the
rest of the crossing - tonight I did the 10.00-1.00, I woke my Dad and
Nephew for the 1.00-4.00 and they woke up Jason for the 4.00-7.00. The night
passed fairly smoothly, apart from my Dad mistakenly locked Jason out of the
boat so he couldn't come in and make a much needed mid-shift cuppa!
Brrrr!
BattPack Day 2 - 26 Nov - Oh my we are all so sleepy! A
combination of the anti seasickness tablets, sea air and night shifts has meant
that we all feel shattered! We rise for meals, take it in turns to doze in
between, and repeat! We are all finding our sea legs. It apparently takes about
4 days for people to settle into life aboard doing 24/7 watches - we are in the
adjustment period. By the afternoon, we have more energy and set up our first
afternoon of fishing. The best time is an hour before sunset. We have done
much research into the best ways to catch fish - the most likely
catch in the Atlantic is Mahe Mahe and Tuna. Alas no joy tonight! We shall
resume our efforts again tomorrow.
Rex and Jago both cut their feet onboard today - a
regular peril of boat life. There have been various knocks and bruises as we
adjust to the irregular bobbing motion. We all need to hold on whenever we move
and it is so easy to forget! Whenever they are out of the cockpit, the kids have
their lifejackets on and safety harnesses on - these we have found are also a
trip-hazard! As the day draws to a close, we are treated to a spectacular sunset
where the sun literally melts into the sea- how does that happen?! Such a thing
of great beauty has us all mesmerised!
I cook a meal of tasty beef with rice and veg and it is
devoured enthusiastically by the crew! Then the night shifts begin. Rex and Ruby
take on their first shirt, holding the fort until 10.00. Jason takes over until
1.00 , wakes me for the 1.00-4.00, for the last hour of which I am
struggling to keep my eyes open, then I am glad to hand over to Dad and Alex for
the sunrise shift! We pass the odd container ship and sail boat but largely the
sea is ours. The boat is gaining good ground, winds of around 11 knots giving us
a speed over ground of 5.5 knots overnight.