Peaks and troughs
Flinns
Terry/ Nicola Flinn
Wed 13 Dec 2006 18:45
Wednesday 13th December.
We can't believe how quickly the times goes in, with one day merging seamlessly with the next and we are now over 3/4 of the way to St Lucia; in fact there are only just 450 miles to go, or 5 more days at sea.
For the last week, the weather has been showery with sudden downpours accompanied by strong gusts of wind.
Bob and Eric teased Nicola after her valiant attempts to catch rainwater in a bucket so that she might be able to wash her hair; she managed about an eggcup full !
Day 15 was eventful; skipper Terry prepared Sunday brunch of bacon, eggs and beans all served with tea and toast; delicious. By now we are eating mainly tinned food and it was with some excitement that Terry managed to catch a lovely big dorado. Unfortunately we were too slow in getting it gaffed and it escaped from the back of the boat, taking our best lure with it.
That afternoon, we had our best whale encounter so far, when a pair of Minkes swam with us for over an hour - they are amazing creatures and it was awesome to have them so close.
Our spirits took a bit of a dive over the course of the next 2 days when the wind virtually disappeared and our speed fell off dramatically; all the while we were receiving reports of the arrival of the big, fast yachts into St Lucia, while our eta just kept slipping back and back. And try as we might with the fishing, we didn't get a single bite in the very hot conditions with virtually no wind or shade. We even had to start the engine and begin motoring towards the finish. The forecast suggests these conditions will persist for a couple of days.
Today dawned bright and sunny and the wind, although still light, was just strong enough to allow us to restart sailing. Our spirits really soared when, with great team-work, we finally landed a monster dorado weighing at least 10 lbs and nearly 3 feet long. It was a magnificent fish, bright gold in colour with iridescent blues and greens. Dorado has wonderful flavour and taste and this one is big enough to feed us all for 2 meals....Frying Tonight !