Monday, 04 February 2013

14 37N 043 02W

We’re more than halfway between Cape Verde and Barbados. The wind has returned and it, combined with the current, are pushing us along at a constant 6 knots over the ground. With the wind forecast to stay steady for the week, we should be arriving around a week from today.

The bananas purchased in Cape Verde are ripening nicely, safely nestled in their hammocks. The oranges and apples aren’t fairing nearly as well, but most importantly, the lemons and limes are still pristine so our drinks remain well garnished.

The other thing well garnished with lemon is the massive Dorado, the largest and feistiest so far, that Ken and Barry reeled in yesterday. This one got a lesson in hurling with the winch handle, again with unlucky results for the fish.

Barry continues his practice in fishmongery, deciding this time to bake the Dorado with delicious results. 50 to 60 minutes at 200 degrees Celcius, wrapped in aluminum foil, for those that find themselves in the middle of the Atlantic, staring at a slab of fresh fish and not sure what to do. Ian used the leftover baked fish to make pad thai for lunch today, and another two meals of uncooked fish wait in the freezer.

Having barely finished dissecting the Dorado, Barry decided to check the AIS, a digital ship location system, and saw that a cargo ship was steaming towards us at ten knots. After a thousand miles of emptiness, our first encounter with another vessel was very close indeed, passing less than a mile across our bow.

After a couple of mild scuffles over the musical selections, it was decided that the honour of choosing the soundtrack that accompanies dinner goes to the chef. Ian was already in progress on a supper playlist and thinks he has perfected it, but at almost 10 hours long it will require an epic dinner party for it to be played from start to finish.

This morning Tony figured out the source of the strange knocking coming from the stern that Ian was happy to sleep through. The initial thought was that the rudder was coming loose, but luckily the culprit of the aural offence was sourced to two jugs of emergency water rations that had come free under the bunk in the aft cabin. With the knocking gone, Tony is all set to sleep off the hangover he’ll have after the halfway party tonight.