Khamsin - Khamsin Day 16

When Piers spotted a mysterious well wrapped package floating past we naturally assumed it was drugs. Much to the disappointment of some on board we could think of absolutely no way at all to salvage it. Just as well as we are fast (well relatively) approaching St Lucia. We are starting to see frequent cargo ships now - BUT STILL NO DOLPHINS! The strangest thing yesterday evening tho, a cargo ship, Jose Progress, came within two miles of us - sounds a big distance but at sea feels surprisingly close - and then proceeded to ‘mill around’ changing direction here and there. We called up via VHF to see what was going on (nosy) and the guy was really grumpy and wouldn’t talk to us. As it was high in the water and didn’t look laden our imaginations began to run riot, no doubt fuelled by weeks at sea: it really was behaving as if it was waiting for some sort of nefarious rendezvous. The plot thickened when dark enveloped both of us and they remained milling around us for another hour or so but with no lights. A huge cargo ship with no lights at night?? Never seen anything like it. It then suddenly steamed off in the direction of Venezuela… those over excited imaginations again! Or maybe not… anyway it certainly sparked much hilarity and speculation and made for an entertaining evening. A fun evening was then followed by our best sailing night: good wind, no squalls and an average speed of 6.5 - our nighttime record! St Lucia here we come…