A GREAT FIRST 24 HOURS

Aquila
Alan and Sarah Bennett
Mon 2 Jun 2008 18:38
33:40.90N 62:42.20W
 
What wonderful sailing!  Our first night on this leg was very tranquil - indeed, a bit too tranquil. We have broken into 3 watches of 3 hours each at night, and 4 hours by day. Tom and Sarah took the first night watch from 2000 20 2300, then Ian did from 2300 - 0200, and Alan 0200 - 0500.  The wind was a bit fitful, but pretty steady in direction from S.  For most of the night we were making just over 4 knots, and by 1000 this morning we had fallen off the edge of the large scale chart showing the approaches to Bermuda.  So now we are on the chart that covers the whole of the Atlantic, and we will be crawling across it at about 1cm a day!
 
Today the wind has filled in a bit, pretty steady from SW at force 3, giving us around 6kts.  The sun is shining, the sea is a deep blue, the skipper has taken a successful sun-run-sun sight, breakfast was a full fry up, lunch al fresco, and the skipper who has the 4hr afternoon watch feels he is in a ghost ship as everyone else is snoring!
 
With over 2 miles underneath the keel, there is no danger of running aground.  So there is plenty of time to enjoy it all.........