Cast your fate to the wind, 11th Dec 2006
Fleck
Mon 11 Dec 2006 13:25
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Noon position: 16,08N, 44,26W
24 hour run 135 nautical miles
Distance to finish 967 nautical miles
ETA at present speed: 18th Dec, 20.00
hours
Good numbers, but they havn't heard the weather
forecast!!
Cast your fate to the wind was possibly by a group
caled Sounds Orchestral? This will mean nothing in Bromsgrove, so we are
relying on Broadstairs for confirmation! (What you need to know is that Heather
& Carol are the 'weather girls' and all of their forecasts come with a song
title- there is logic to all this!) An alternative is 'three wheels
on our wagon' yes - we are still rolling.
We considered Free Willie, and Mobey Dick as
titles,as Geoff spotted one or several large whales yesterday afternoon. Titles
rejected however for fear if ineundo. Whales magnificent: about 20 feet long and
with a big splash of white on their flanks. There was either a procession of
three, or the same whale circled the boat three time. A tremendous sight, such
powerful creatures. Can Hannah identify this for us: ?killer whale has a
white patch, do any of the others.
On the fishing front I had two bites yesterday,
once the line broke, and on the other occasion the fish wriggled off. So you can
immagine that the line went out first thing this morning, but nothing so
far.
Our GRIB files confirm all the other forecasts that
there will be very light winds tomorrow; the question is, for how long? We all
know that Dave Perks, Geoffs 'chief' can make peace, and probably rain. The
question is can he make wind? If he can't he's going to find himself on call on
Christmas day!!
Life on board is really very pleasant, our
watermaker gives us enough water for a shower each each day, the water heats up
in a black plastic bag on deck: really hot if it's sunny. Shower in the cockpit,
one at a time!! This makes all the difference to quality of life. We have
overstocked on food and the forecabin looks like a drop off point for the annual
harvest festival collection at the kids' primary schools! All the goodies,
like chocolate biscuits have been 'removed' ages ago!
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