November 2nd
Bamarandi
David & Donald
Mon 2 Nov 2015 17:30
The night passed by with one or two rain showers and continuing swell but today has seen the seas gradually calm down meaning less staggering around the boat from place to place by all of us.
The wind has always been in the wrong place unfortunately and mainly right on our nose so our sails have been furled away and we've been motoring along at around 7kts economising our fuel.
Our fuel barrels have not moved an inch so far having been well strapped together and placed on mats so we feel confident if they have stayed in place during the very big seas we have experienced that they can get through anything.
Head Chef Audrey ably partnered by Sous Chef Caitlin have ensured meal times continue to be an event to look forward to although sometimes it feels like we have only just finished one meal and we are straight onto the next one! We continue alcohol free drinking Chateau H20 from our watermaker - tastes better than out of the tap at home!
We've seen several large tankers going past in each direction and despite their size they travel at surprising speeds of between 13-17kts. We always look them up to see their name and destination plus what cargo they are carrying if it is displayed.
During dinner a solitary dolphin was spotted leaping out of the water to recce the boat and we've had gulls wheel around the boat just inches off the water during the day showing off their aerobatic manoeuvring skills.
We've been trying to work out what time zone we are now in and therefore the time we will arrive in Las Palmas exactly. We think we are one hour back now from everything iPhones and iPads can tell us but we only just discovered this at 6pm when Glen and Caitlin had started their 4hr watch meaning an extra hour! However we will all sit up on the flybridge with them and enjoy the wonderful evening sun and later the sunset. Our nav system tells us the timing of sunrise and sunset and when the moon rises.
180nm to go now so 7kts should see us arrive at Las Palmas in just over 24hrs where we will join in the ARC festivities for a few days and get any technical issues we need sorted out resolved. We have kept our average speed up well over the last few days using sails whenever we can despite the heavy seas.
After the early Pringlegate issue the rate of decline of supplies has thankfully slowed. Caitlin produced a tub of Haribo Hariween sweets last night for Halloween enjoyed by everyone.
Bamarandi signing off at what we think is 17:30 on a lovely sunny evening about 150nm off the coast of Africa having passed Agadir earlier in the day.
Everyone if fine and enjoying the calmer seas and sunshine.
A special HELLO to the biology class we understand is following the blog!! Too long to explain at the $ rate per mb our sat email provider charges us!!
Bamarandi