The GPS tells me we've just done 20,000 miles since leaving St Lucia.
So a beer (actually two) at lunch time was well merited! But if you add to that the 5344 miles that we did in order to get to Gibraltar, it means that Cleone and the Skipper sailed 25,000 miles last year (an average of nearly sixty eight and a half miles a day). This is probably more than Cleone sailed in her twenty four years since she became Cleone, and for the Skipper it's by far and away the biggest distance he has sailed in any one (or two or three or five) years so far.
However, a short note on Larry Taylor, formerly Bosun of the Royal Engineer Yacht Club, puts this in perspective. Big Larry left the Army and set off from England on his own in his 31' yacht Suli at about the same time as Cleone in 2007. Last seen by Cleone in Cape Verdes, where he was still on his first tank of fuel, Larry and Suli made their way to the Marquesas via the Magellan Straits rather than through the Panama Canal, and we were surprised, and a bit miffed, to find Suli had reached South Africa before Cleone. Eschewing his engine other than for entering and leaving harbour, Larry's latest and most remarkable achievement has been to sail direct from Thursday Island (Northern Tip of Australia) to Suldanha Bay in South Africa, a distance of some 7000 miles non-stop in 70 days. Then he went home for Christmas.
Meanwhile, on board Cleone, we've enjoyed two remarkable days sailing. Today we will easily top yesterday's 150 mile total, and it's been story book sailing, with fair winds, moderate seas, sunshine, stars, stunning sunsets and even a cooling shower of rain (which led to the Skipper finding Something Important to do down below). Initial queasiness amongst the crew has all but evaporated, sleep patterns are being established, and the Skipper is getting his tea and ginger biscuits more and more regularly. Things could be a lot worse.
All well on board, and best wishes from
James, Graham, Jenni and Shayne
Yacht Cleone
31o08'S 013o44'E