Amokura - Log Day 7 - Half Way!

Well the momentous half way point was passed yesterday evening, and we are counting down the miles. On watch at 0100 I was excited to see the Distance to Waypoint (our destination point) flip from 1000 to 999.9! It is a bit too early to start projecting an arrival day and time as still a lot of miles to go! We are delighted to still be slowly progressing through the fleet, although winds are a bit lighter so our speed has dropped correspondingly. The sea state has also calmed, making for better sleeping conditions for the crew - the Skipper seems to have the ability to fall asleep whatever!
It is strange to note it is exactly a month to Christmas Day, we are so removed from the commercial run-up to the big day and the accompanying damp and chilly weather. No Christmas trees out here, we are clad in shorts, vests and bikini tops, with just an additional thin layer overnight. It is a lovely temperature, with a warm breeze, I can't think of anywhere I would rather be at present!

Despite the generator cutting out, we managed to run it for long enough to recharge batteries and run watermaker. Topping up the tank took a little longer than planned as we didn't notice the pipe had become disconnected from the hose feeding the tank - we now have a very clean port side deck!
With enough water, we are celebrating the half-way point by rinsing our bedding on the express washing machine cycle - all mod cons on board - although as I write, Vicky is filling the machine with water by hand as there is a water pressure issue! Troubleshooting problems and thinking of creative fixes are useful skills in this environment.

With no weed in attendance, we deployed the fishing line. Shortly after an almighty SNAP alerted us that something very large had taken the lure and disappeared off into the deep. We are rapidly running through our collection of lures so tonight's supper will involved trawling the freezer for swordfish purchased in the Mindelo fishmarket last week.

No complaints about the food in Hotel Amokura, Mark cooked a lovely lentil bolognese last night. It even stayed in the pan on our gimballed stove. We ate in the cockpit as usual, helping ourselves straight from the pans, first arranging an old towel on the cockpit floor, like some kind of surreal picnic to stop them sliding around and tipping the contents over our feet. Food becomes a big preoccupation when at sea and we don't want to end up wearing it!

Miles run in last 24hrs: 163 nm
Ave speed: 6.8 kts
Miles to Grenada: 935 nm

Signing off...

Liz Brigstocke