Story - Half way!!
Kalandia Web Diary
Bill Peach
Tue 1 Dec 2009 10:27
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Today we reached the half way point on the voyage,
which was a milestone. We are keenly watching our progress in the fleet and
especially the class/division we are in. At the moment we appear to be in 6th
place in our division, and about 60th overall
We have been sailing for most of the way using
twistle rig. This is an arrangement where there are two for sails, both held out
with poles which come back to a large universal joint held in space by various
uphauls, downhauls and forward stays. This joint take quite a load when weare
sailing. Especially with two very large sails which at time are in 25 knot
winds. We decided to try out a different sail
configuration in anticiaption of lighter winds at the end of the run.
It was as well we did as we found that the
universal joint had the pin on one of the dogs had sheared, and it would have
eventually failed.
We made up an alternative rig which works in a
similar way which we have now returned to, This is quite stable and means that
we can enjoy our evening meal in relative comfort!. in fact tonight we are
having roast chicken which makes a change from sea fresh fish, this time a
dorado (see the proud fishermen pic)
We have also been trying out our celestial
navigation skills using sextants to find our position. We are getting mixed
results, but then it does need lot of practice (thats my excuse!!). Its as
well the GPS satellite navigation is working well!
Bill
Day 8 in the middle of the Atlantic and we are
currently (Monday Nov 30th at 20:37 GMT) going very fast downwind (as usual) in
20-25 knot with a decent size following sea. We are a few miles south of
the great circle route trying to ensure we stay in the maximum wind strengths.
It is now dark but we have a full moon and it is a tremendous experience to be
firing fast downwind at night surfing down large rollers :)
Dick and I had a request to stop catching fish for
a while so as we could eat some of the significant provisioning that we brought
with us, in any event we have been busy with rig, sextants and calculations,
studying weather information and of course trying to sail the boat as fast as we
can to St Lucia. Things seem to take time to complete and we have all commented
as to how quickly each day passes, for instance this morning we had to Gybe as
the wind had veered into the east, this involved de-rigging both poles holding
out the foresails, swapping sheets and then re-rigging the whole thing in
reverse. This operation took place after a night of confused sea and very
variable wind direction resulting in lack of sleep for all and so in British
fashion we had a tea break half way through.
A very nice chap call Ben called on the radio today
from a yacht called Snark, they were about 15 miles behind us and put out a
general call for a chat, which was nice. They had been followed by
whales most of the morning which they were of course very excited about, we are
keeping an extra sharp look out in the hope that we might get lucky. Poor old
Ben has been on the radio tonight asking for help with an electrical problem as
he needs a tester, we offered but are too far ahead, another yacht nearer his
location has agreed to help. The roast chicken dinner was magnificent
thanks to Liz ably assisted by Bill, I felt a little guilty as I had suggested
this before we left if we had a quiet flat day, in the event they cooked it
in the equivalent of a small kitchen attached to a roller coaster in a heat
wave. Thanks again for making the effort.
Richard
Mid atlantic after 8 days at sea and as Rich says
our days are full of doing stuff with little time to read or lay out in the sun.
What a bloody liberty!
The excellent roast dinner we had tonight was
obviously made from food we bought with us from Grand Canary ( I can
confirm there are few chickens mid atlantic) but here is a menu we served a
couple of nights ago after 2 significant catches of fish.
A choice of ;
Line caught Skipjack Tuna or fillets of Atlantic Mackerel (or both!) Served on a bed of mustard mashed potato and sweet potato with a side dish of sautéed cabbage and pine nuts (all ingredients fresh with no aditives or flavouring) Dessert Angostura Rum Liqueur ice cream with glazed fruit and ginger. Coffee and biscuits served during the after dinner quiz courtesy of the Hackney family. thanks I must say we are living rather well but I must try
harder on the tan and tummy reduction activity ie lay on deck and stop eating.
At least my liver should be feeling better, just 2 GnT's this trip so far and NO
beer!
As we got to the half way mark I opened up the
letters I got from my Wife and Daughter, Sue and Bex, specially written for the
occasion. It made me realise just how lucky I am both out here and at
home. I then read an email detailing the weather conditions in the UK. It just
confirmed again how lucky I am to be out here. If all goes according to plan we
will be in St Lucia in 8 days time. I can already taste the rum
cocktails.
Cheers
Dick
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