Day 6 - Christmas Day - 79nm!

Mor Toad / Moy Toad
David and Jocelyn Fawcett
Thu 25 Dec 2014 13:11
20:00.48N 25:29.90W

Best Christmas Day present - we are sailing along very nicely with the main and small cruising Shute on a cloudless day at around 4- 6 knots SOG about a knot more so current with us too. So all feeling a little happier with progress. We still heading south but trying to put some west in now to be able to pick up the improved trade winds predicted for Monday at 18N 30W. We know things not totally predictable but ground crew and sea crew had come to the same conclusion re plan with the forecasts we have.

After motoring for couple hours yesterday and debating whether to carry on and head for Cape Verdes to refuel for some reason around lunchtime it was decided to try the big cruising Shute and see how we fared with that. Think we might have had a puff of wind! We got over a knot sometimes 3 and it was more pleasant than the engine so the decision got reversed. By evening the wind had died again so down it came - I spent my Christmas Eve stuffing it into its sack in the fore cabin ( we took it down through the fore hatch) whilst the men did the rope work and hauling on deck. After that we had supper and David decided maybe we should just hove to and have a good nights sleep. So we had a weak drink, supper and watched a James Bond. Always amazes me it doesn't matter how many times you have seen the films there are vast tracks that you do not remember. Meanwhile the boat pottered along under the main and new cruising Shute 1- 3 knots. By the end of the film and David's watch 7-10pm ( he kept popping outside to make sure nothing untoward happening) the wind had got up (so no hoving too) and it remained good (that's relative!) over night so reasonable progress made.

Santa did arrive at the boat - he'd been left a message, drink and food (though sherry and mince pies non existent as was the carrot but we made substitutes) a lit ballon and 2 little lighted Christmas trees to guide him in on what was a beautiful starlit night. Dan was on watch asleep so didn't see him but we have evidence of his landing.

We are moving along quite nicely as I write, the men are trying to sort the generator which stopped working whilst I was trying to make coffee!! Hopefully not terminal but this has delayed present opening and 2 more chapters of Slocum's ' voyage round the world'

Dolphins came to visit yesterday lunchtime but we weren't going fast enough to create a bow wave so they soon lost interest. More birds have been spotted which we think are Petrels and Shearwaters having reread the chapters in several books on crossing the Atlantic and they said these were the birds they saw??

David's comment of the morning was ' would Dan have expected to be spending Christmas Day at sea with his in laws when he married Alex 6 years ago in January?' Dan's response ' was it plan A? David ' it wasn't plan A B or C......... To be spending Xmas at sea with anyone and certainly not mid atlantic' So there you go. Where do I come into this equation and Alex who should be here isn't? Ah well - just shows that it's not only the weather/wind that is full of surprises. Hopefully in about 2 weeks we shall all be reunited and Alex sets off on her own little adventure with the children in 2 days time to the BVI to visit her cousin and has a ticket booked to meet us in Barbados around 9th January.

Final note - fingers and toes crossed the generator is running again. Secondly we are now just further from Falmouth than we have to run to Barbados.