We have had interesting overnight watches again with
squalls and associated moderate winds.
Each watch was challenged with at least an hour of heavy rain and the
opportunity to reset the sails to the conditions making the time on deck go
quickly and giving us all an excellent offshore sailing experience. Sighted a large freighter this morning,
on its way to South America. This
was our first encounter with commercial shipping since we left the area near
coastal Africa between Las Palmas and Cape Verde. Big ships leave quite the impression as
we have not been exposed to the modern world in many days. The crew conducted a gybe this morning
(like a tack but with the wind coming from behind the boat) , this manoeuvre
requires the entire team working together to reorient the sails of Skyelark in a
highly choreographed action. It was
a brilliantly executed piece of team work and was a great example of the skill
we have built as a crew over the last couple weeks. Looking forward to that “cheeseburger and
cold beer” in St Lucia.
DJ