15:38.000N 53:05.000W
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 !
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