21:36.33N 21:21.78W
Ensuenos
David Charity
Thu 25 Nov 2010 15:32
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Dear All,
Just another blog entry to tell you all we are safe
and well. The boat is sailing smoothly and the planned route seems to
be working well for us. So far the route has been reasonably
uneventful; still no immigrant ships, interesting wildlife
or mutiny to report. During the days, the
sun is shining bright (26-28 degsC) and the evenings have all been beautifully
moonlit. Very awe inspiring - I would seriously recommend this to anyone if
they get the chance.
As the majority of our blog audience won't
know who is on the boat, I thought I would introduce the team:
David "the Owner" - the man who has made this
all possible and chief strategist.
Likes: scones, cleanliness, winning, Brazil,
avocado
Dislikes: coming last, sea gypsy boats that cut us
up (they know who you are!)
Bas "the Skipper" - our experienced
Dutch captain, race tactician and general Mr Fix It.
Likes: insanely sugary food, fixing stuff,
engines
Dislikes: stuff not working, cooking,
avocado
Ron "Long Ron Silver" - another experieneced member
of the team and onboard doctor
Likes: a clean galley, sailor's yarns, trivial
pursuit, avocado
Dislikes: living in his
sauna-coffin-combo cabin, situated next to the heavy machinery that pounds
away while he tries to sleep
Rich "the Speed Demon" - core member of the team
that prides himself on a legendary spagetti bolonaise and god-like helming
skills
Likes: hitting 8.9 knots in the dark while reading
his book
Dislikes: avocado
Gareth "the Cabin Boy" *** - general dog's body, IT
gimp and average cook
Likes: sleep, trimmed sails, factor 30
suncream
Dislikes: avocado, avocado, avocado (the food of
the devil)
*** It's an exciting day for me. I have been
rapidly promoted from Cabin Boy to Chief Black Bin Liner Technician. As a reward
for my hard work I have also been given additional duties
of Fruit Peeling Officer and Coffe Making Supervisor. If I play my
cards right, I'll be Captain of the Heads before you know it.
For the sailing enthusiasts among you, we continue
to head south-west to the Cape Verde islands at which point we will
then head west to the Carribean, maintaining the
expected downwind track with the trade winds. As some of you may have
noticed from the map plotter, we've held back from heading too far west
initially, and hence have been falling back in the rankings. Let me assure you
this is all part of the BIG PLAN! We're staying east to avoid a low
pressure system which is developing right on top of the boats to the west. This
is producing south-westerly winds, i.e. turning the tailwinds into
headwinds, making progress a lot harder (and rougher). We should hit the CV
islands in a couple of days at which point the winds should improve and carry us
along the home straight to St Lucia for tea and medals (and, we hope, an
improvement in our rankings).
Speak soon and stay tuned.
Gareth "the cabin boy assistant's coffee
stirrer"
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