December 4th 2010: Kicking our feet up on board

Enigma's Transatlantic Voyage
Manuel Ribeiro
Sat 4 Dec 2010 17:56

 

13:00.40N 30:30.40W

 

The day after ‘locking in’ on St. Lucia was one of calm and relaxation. Sailing steadily downwind at about 5-6 knots, there was not much trimming or manoeuvring to keep us busy. So, like many times before, we found other ways to enjoy ourselves – and we are getting pretty good at it.

 

Life on the boat has seen us make minor adjustments in order to improve our leisurely state of affairs. An example of this is dealing with the sun’s ubiquitous heat. The increasingly imposing sun had made the conditions too hot for the roof of the cockpit to keep out alone. One of the ways we could tell was that our beloved Jamon Serrano was becoming too soft to slice; it was practically melting. But since the interior of the Lagoon keeps out the wind, using that as an alternative shelter often was like hopping out of the frying pan and into the fryer!

 

To deal with this, Manuel resourcefully used a large canvas and a lagoon flag to shelter the cockpit from the rising sun. This has proved to work very well as the difference in heat between the cockpit and the front of the deck is obvious. Not an essential addition for our well-being, but it has been welcomed nonetheless.

 

Further improvements have also led to the introduction of another addition to the boat – a hammock (Zé thought it was a very dangerous idea…)! As if the increased shade wasn’t enough to ease our leisurely predicament, this put the icing on the cake. The chilli con carne lunch, sliceable Jamon Serrano snacks and a Woody Allen movie didn’t hurt either. Not a bad way to spend a Friday, if we can say so ourselves.

 

The ability to keep up the spirits of the crew is essential for a journey of this kind. At this rate, we won’t want to ever leave!

 

Speak soon,

 

The “laid back” Enigma Crew

 

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