Sunbird position 24:24.7N 60:54.9W
Noon on 29th
May
Hi
All
We are off.
We left Jolly Harbour, Antigua after supper on the
27th of May after a day off last minute preparations and a lot of
shopping. It was magic leaving at night and heading off into the darkness. We
sailed up the west coast of Antigua and headed north. Tiredness soon kicked in
and half of us went below to get some rest leaving Steve (the captain), Andy J
(the first mate) and Medi (the international adventurer) to take us into anchor
off an 11 mile beach in Barbuda just as the sun rose. After a few hours sleep we
upped anchor and headed off for good. Medi took the first watch and we watched
as Barbuda disappeared over the horizon behind us.
We have now settled into
our watch system of 2 hours on watch followed by 2 hours on standby helping the
next watch keeper. It seems to work well and we have 6 hours to rest and read
before we go on again. We are eating well. Amanda (the stewardess/cook) has
stepped out of the watch system so that she put her energy into creating
fantastic meals for us and looking after the domestics of life at sea.
We
were blessed to see a school of dolphins on the first day of our trip. They
approached the boat from downwind and spent half an hour playing around the bow
wave at the front of the boat. Sea-farers have always thought that to see
dolphins at the beginning of a trip is a good omen. It was amazing to watch them
play. They are such free joyful creatures. I think that this freedom and
playfulness that the dolphins carry naturally is something that we may all find
from time to time on the ocean.
Another highlight has been the night time
sailing. Because of the lack of light pollution the stars become vividly bright.
When sailing along under the Milky Way at night with the phosphorescence in the
wake you really get a sense that you are sailing through the universe.
We
have been making good time screaming along at 10 knots with the wind on the
beam. Our plan is to head as far as
we can north before the high forms in front of us and we lose the wind.
Hope
you are all well
Written by Buddhist Ben