Position           07:53.48 N 098:35.48 E

Date                1415 (UTC+7) Friday 25 December 2015 and then

                        1910 (UTC+7) Friday 25 December 2015

Distance run    11.3 plus 1.8nm over the ground

Christmas morning on Caduceus and Santa has been

We quite rightly made a leisurely start even though Flomaida set off promptly to find a new anchorage.  They did realise that we had dinner!  We had a long Christmas Eve call from Andrew and LJ who are in Hawaii and later in the day calls with Mother in Edinburgh and Alice and Stuart in Staines, London.  Definitely spread over the four corners of the world.  Other UK calls would have to wait as they coincided with the party games that preceded dinner – more of that later.

Flomaida had chosen what sounded like a nice anchorage with a beach.  Unfortunately the beach was covered in dead fish and as darkness fell became a lee shore.  Cue to a command decision and move diner into a sheltered bay a couple of miles away.  This with dinner on hold we moved and Flomaida followed.  No problems and we both anchored with protection from the swell and wind but then a call from Flomaida that in towing their dinghy the towing eye on the dinghy had broken and their dinghy was adrift.  Cue to launch our dinghy and set off in pursuit, having collected Christoph en-route.

All accomplished and with the Flomaida’s on board, with their dinghy,  we celebrated with sparkling Alsace wine (purchased in Vanuatu), fresh Thai prawns purchased yesterday from a fisherman and barbequed boned shoulder of New Zealand Lamb from, guess where?, New Zealand.  The wonders of a deep freeze.

The team photograph is offered in evidence.  No photographic evidence of the party games that preceded it is recorded to protect the innocent.  What goes on tour stays on tour.  Well sort of!

Dramas over.  The Christmas crew and very posh with a table cloth and wandering star