Speed: 6.7 knots @ 254.87° Speed: 6.7 knots @ 250.54°
Position at: 02 Dec 2013 08:00 UTC Position at: 02 Dec 2013 16:00 UTC
DTF: 1723.4 NM DTF: 1670.5 NM
Lat/Lon: 23° 53.04 N, 032° 50.77 W Lat/Lon: 23° 38.44 N, 033° 46.21 W
4th in Racing B 4th in Racing B
Sailing towards the sunset
With the weather improving, time to do the washing!
As the sea finally started to calm down and the winds dropped to around 20 knots late Day 7, we secured an extra birthday gift for Vale by way of catching a monster fish. Another Dorado, it was huge. John E expertly landed it into the safe hands of John 'the buthcher/fishmonger/don't look under the new patio' Lobek, who clinically attended to it before passing it on to Gianni to work his culinary genius.
We enjoyed an excellent meal, relieved at last that Day 8 would be calmer. Indeed that night was uneventful; no major squalls, a mere smattering of rain, no high seas, and a decent nights sleep around the watch rota. This morning was bright and sunny and we have taken advantage of the relatively flat sea to attend to those duties impossible during the gale. Cleaning the cabin, washing floors and, most importantly, washing clothes. The sea is rich with plankton which may be good news for whales, but, get it on your clothes, which you cant avoid when several hundred gallons have poured over the deck in the last week,and you end up smelling like a well matured Gorgonzola. This afternoon we threw the spinnaker up and with winds dropping down to +/- 15 knots, we are keen to maintain our 7/8 knot speed through the night. So it will be a tiring one but at least in less dramatic circumstances than before. News from ARC control suggests we have moved up the running order and with our nose pointing directly to St Lucia,we are focused on a strong finish.
