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Jay Jay - Day 15 16.1N 46.3W 840 miles to go



I am sitting here in the cockpit with the washing hanging all around me drying in the breeze. It looks something reminiscent of Nanky-Poos laundry without the presence of Aladdin. and his magic lamp. However, back to news. Last night we had lightning flashes all around us. I noticed it ahead of us as night fell and kept an eye on its progress. After a while it seemed apparent that the storm might be moving away from us, but just to be on the safe side, I thought about turning south to avoid it. It was at that moment that the next flash lit up the sky from the south. Nope. we weren't going that way. Then more flashes from the east (directly behind us) moving in our direction. It didn't look good for us. We placed all our precious electrical items (iPads, iPhone, my phone, PC, Sat Phone, hand-held VHF) all into the microwave in the event of a strike on the boat, in which case the microwave should act like a faraday cage and save the contents from harm.
 
Eventually, the lightning stopped, and the squalls hit instead, so we ended up having a very rocky ride through the night. I don't think anyone slept much if at all. Dawn broke with more squalls, but since then the weather has improved and the wind is blowing us along at a steady 6 knots.
 
Another flying fish hit the deck when Debra was taking over the watch from Ed. She wouldn't touch it, so Ed dispatched it over the side back to safety, but only after donning Debra’s rubber gloves! That brings the total so far to 5.
 
I have come to the conclusion that no matter how experienced a sailor you are, you never stop learning. I am just getting to know some of the foibles that the boat has, how she handles best under different conditions, which tack is better for sailing, how the whisker pole is deployed efficiently, how many revs to run the engine at, and so on. Jay Jay is a very sound, well equipped boat that I have no doubt will take us wherever we want to go. She handles responsively without being skittish, and feels stable regardless of the wind speed, all we have to do is make sure that the amount of canvas exposed to the elements is correct, and in this matter we are getting progressively better. Long may it continue.
 
The food supplies are lasting well, and we have yet to sample the delights of the Fray Bentos steak and kidney pies that we have on our scheduled menu. The water tanks are full, the fuel supply is plentiful, and we are looking forward to landfall in St Lucia.

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