ARC Day 17 – Three dimensional cooking

Position           13:18.68N 48:04.85W

Date                2359 UTC Tuesday 7 December 2010

The miles to go are falling fast with our best days run ever for Caduceus of 198nm.  Not quite the prized 200nm but we now know that that target is achievable.

The day’s run has been on a constant course of 292 ° Mag, magnetic variation hereabouts is a massive 18 °, with wind from the ENE of between 20 and 25 knots a 3 metre swell and two overlying wave patterns.  The consistency has been amazing, especially as it has allowed us to maintain a reach, our fastest angle of sailing under plain sail.  Generally it has been a very vigorous day. 

Elizabeth found cooking up our main meal an interesting experience in three dimensional cooking with nothing wishing to stay put unless hung on to.  Non-skid table mats scattered around help keep things in place and the twin sink provides a safe repository.  One of the few things that we have from our original Cornish Crabber, Caduceus I – 1977, are two polypropylene mugs with hook handles that clip onto the central divider between the sinks, amazingly useful bits of kit an totally unobtainable now.   We have only been in these conditions for three days and already are harking back to the days when the world was a more stable environment.

For those interested in the Mate’s catering it may seem that we are in a short cycle of options.  Quite right but it is now Day 17 and the food keeps appearing as if by magic from the freezer.  Today’s trophy from the freezer search was a Boeuf Bourgionne and very good it was to.  We debated having a glass of red wine to wash it down but given the practicalities of managing a glass in these conditions decided not to as neither of us fancied ending up wearing the red wine – wine out of a hooky poly mug is just not the same.