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Indulgence - 'Dar she blows…



Monday 3rd December

Current Position: N 20o 40'.375 W 30o 17".111

Current Speed : 7.3knots

Distance to finish at Saint Lucia : 1792 nm


* * * * *

'Dar she blows…

At 9.30am, Denis stopped, paused, looked at us all and exclaimed "hey guys I didn't sign up for a job in a fishing trawler!" At this point of the day, we had already caught and filleted two fine Mahi Mahi fish. That was lunch and dinner set, and just as well since the majority of our fresh provisions have now run their course.

Denis already had a tough watch the night before, and we had all heard a lot of "Ohhh fffff's, ohhhh bloody fffff's" and so on from our cozy bunks below. At one point a rouge wave crashed over the starboard stern, soaking Denis and causing a ripping noise from the push pit. By the time he got his wits about him, which is rare, he noticed the Dan Bouy was gone. It's not the first sacrifice Indulgence has given to the sea, as we have now lost a winch handle, a fishing lure we had christened "The Big Fella" and a pair of Aidan's shorts. If we don't hurry up, by the time we get to the Carribbean, we will be using banana skins to cover our modesty.

As rest of the day settled in, we enjoyed 25 knots of constant breeze gusting up to 35knots. Indulgence is very comfortable on her first ocean passage, hosing along at 7 - 8 knots. We have our headsail poled out and three reefs in the main, a bit like two National 18 dinghy sails at home.

The waves at times are truly awesome, reaching heights comparable to small buildings. At one such point during the mid afternoon we were all sitting in the cockpit mulling over the days tasks and looking behind at the surf. We noticed a large dark shadow slip by in our wake. Moments later, there it was again, and we realised it was a very, very, VERY large mammal.

For the next hour or so, we enjoyed the company of an enormous fin whale. Within metres, she glided around the boat, swam under our hull, and surfaced for air almost every 4-5 minutes. It was a really special moment, as all four of us sat in wonder in our 36 foot boat, surfing alongside a whale the same size as us. I for one, felt very small.

The log book is filling up, and we have noticed that John prefers to record in sketches rather than words, so a little picture of a whale is now decorating the pages of Day Seven at sea. This is along side five little pictures of fish to indicate our Mahi Mahi catch so far.

Tommorow is December 4th, my 31st birthday, and our one week anniversary of our ARC passage. We've now gotten so comfortable with our surroundings, that when Aidan heard the engine on this morning to charge the batteries, he thought we had pulled up alongside a marina somewhere, while John imagines women and children talking in the background. Hmmm…… maybe it is time we hit land again soon.

PS: For the whale watchers out there, the co-ordinates where we first spotted the fin whale were N 20o 51' W 29o 40'

PPS: Rafiki is very close by again. "We will fiiiiiiinnnnnd you"


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