18:15N
40:52W
It’s amazing how
busy (and tired) you can get sitting around all day on a boat. So busy, in fact,
that it has taken 4 days to update our blog since the last posting ….
A bit about tactics
…
For fans of
Blackadder, you’ll recall that Baldrick usually had a “cunning plan” in any
difficult situation. Usually it involved eating mud or making coffee with, well,
mud, but the general pattern was that the whatever the plan, you could guarantee
that it was ludicrously stupid and greeted with ridicule. And that’s pretty much
how Nishi reacted when he heard Syd’s tactics. He’s now sitting in a corner of
the boat eating humble pie (hmm, tasty with sour cream) because, in a nutshell,
the tactics have been spot on and executed to near perfection.
So what is this
grand plan? Well … we’re not telling. Not until we’re over the finish line
anyway. And no, this isn’t just a cheap way of avoiding the question so that we
can retrospectively change the plan to reflect what actually happened – we just
don’t want to give any tips to the opposition.
Saturday 1st
December 2007 – 24 shopping days to Christmas
We passed a
major milestone today – we passed the 1000 nautical mile mark! Nishi suggested
we celebrate with a wee drinkee. What we had was a cup of tea – how very
understatedly British.
After a lazy
Friday, we had energy to burn. Syd had conveniently arranged with the gods for
the weather to be temperamental to give us something to do. I can’t go into too
much detail about the various sail
combinations we used, or why, but in summary: (i) we tried using another sail;
(ii) we tried swapping all the sails over to the opposite side of the boat;
(iii) we swapped them back again; (iv) we took down the additional sail (so that
we were back where we started); (v) we changed the set up of the sails so that
they were all to one side of the boat; and finally (vi) we stuck another sail up
(again).
It can be a bit
frightening out on deck when the sails are flapping around and the loose ropes
are whipping through the air, but Syd guided us through it masterfully. The
upshot is that Nishi and Annabel are more comfortable handling the sail changes
quickly and with minimal guidance, and they got a decent work out!
In between all
that, were suspicious of a mutiny on board. As mentioned previously, the water
maker and one of the toilets have already been acting up. It seems that they
have persuaded the generator (one of the more important and influential pieces
of machinery on board) to join their little union. Allegations that the
generator has gone mad and has a screw loose have, quite literally, been proved
to be correct. We shall have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t step
out of line again.
Getting the
generator running allowed us to warm up enough water for the showers. Following
Annabel’s brave encounter with the shower a few days ago, all members of crew
have had a mandatory wash. The “aroma” on board has improved noticeably. Sadly,
Annabel then had an unplanned shower when it rained during her night
shift.
After over a
week of sailing, we finally made verbal contact with the outside world! Syd made
radio contact with a boat sitting on the horizon to our port (or left) side.
Turns out they were also Arcists. Syd and the American skipper of the other boat
exchanged travel tips - expect to
see postings from Brazil in the near
future.,,
By the way, the
answer to Friday’s mystery meat question was …… chicken. Or it might have been
turkey. But we think it was probably chicken. But it might have been
turkey.
Key
facts:
Position (at
1200 GMT/UTC) – 22.18n 32.20w
Distance
travelled (in 24 hrs to 1200 GMT/UTC) – 190 nautical miles
Total distance
travelled - 1021 nautical miles
Dinner – Syd’s
chicken curry (comprising leftover curry from the other night and fresh
curry)
Nishi’s beard
growth – Phil Mitchell (“Leave it! It’s faaamly”)
Sunday 2nd December
2007
The milestones
just keep on coming. Syd (a little emotional with happiness) announced this
afternoon that he had just broken his personal record for time at sea without
landfall – exactly 7 days. Good on you Syd – it’s been a long time coming! Nishi
suggested we celebrate with a wee drinkee. What we had was another cup of
tea!
After
yesterday’s fun and games, we had another lazy day.
Syd decided to
quash any mutiny amongst the onboard equipment by tackling the water maker. Syd
won this round, but not without a (very comical – sorry Syd, but it was) fight.
The water maker is in a cupboard behind two doors – one opening outwards to the
left and one opening outwards to the right. Every time Syd stuck his head in the
cupboard, the boat would mysteriously rock causing one door to slam open and the
other to shut (on Syd’s head!), and then vice versa. This went on for about 5
minutes, before Syd lost his temper and tried to tie the doors back. Only some
how he managed to tie himself into a corner so he couldn’t access the water
maker! The whole scene was very Frank Spencer. Syd has promised to tackle the
generator wearing a rain-coat, beret and roller-skates.
However, we
think we might also have gremlins on board. Over the last few days a number of
shackles holding various pulleys, ropes and wires have mysteriously worked
themselves loose. Once or twice wouldn’t be unusual, but for so many to go wrong
at once is just bonkers. It is either a huge coincidence, or someone is making
mischief. Nishi has been round and tightened all the shackles and bolts on deck
and is now on 24 hour gremlin watch.
Surprisingly, we
haven‘t seen much in the way of sea life, but we have seen a few birds. Annabel
has identified them as “tropicbirds”. We’re hoping that the presence of birds
indicates that there may be fish about. The problem then is trying to catch one
– no joy so far.
Key
facts:
Position (at
1200 GMT/UTC) – 21.15n 35.24w
Distance
travelled (in 24 hrs to 1200 GMT/UTC) – 184 nautical miles
Total distance
travelled - 1205 nautical miles
Dinner –
Annabel’s shepherd’s pie (the closest we could get to a Sunday roast)
Nishi’s beard
growth – “Big Issue ….”
Monday 3rd
December 2007
Yet another
milestone bites the dust – we have passed the half way point between Gran
Canaria and St
Lucia! Nishi suggested we celebrate with a wee
drinkee. What we had was yet another cup of tea!
After putting
the water maker to rights yesterday, Syd decided to show the engine who’s boss.
The water maker must have been talking to the engine, because Syd’s head took
another beating. Fortunately, he spotted the problem pretty quickly – an
electrical connection had broken. Ever the practical engineer, Syd found a
simple solution – solder the two ends together and wrap with as much electrical
tape as possible.
Aside from that,
another quiet day. . The “on shift” duties (such as steering, trimming the sails
etc) have become second nature now, so it feels like we’re not actually doing
very much. We put the clocks back another hour (so that sunrise and sunset are
at reasonable times) and the shift system has become almost automatic. The
weather has improved, so its shorts and t-shirts during the day with trousers,
t-shirt and either a light waterproof or fleece at night.
Key
facts:
Position (at
1200 GMT/UTC) – 20.01n 38.15w
Distance
travelled (in 24 hrs to 1200 GMT/UTC) – 177 nautical miles
Total distance
travelled - 1382 nautical miles
Dinner –
supposedly Spanish omelette (with Spanish eggs, veg and potatoes and sausages),
smothered in tomato sauce (as not mentioned before, our special stash of fresh
tomatoes hadn’t survived a week in the ‘cellar’ under some floorboards and were
pretty furry/liquid)
Nishi’s beard
growth – Congratulations, Mr Tailor – it’s a healthy baby beard
Random comment
of the day – “Get in … it’s spitting!” - Syd
Tuesday 4th December
2007 (mid afternoon)
We had a fairly
relaxing start to the day – the sails are already set and we are heading in the
direction that we want to go. The wind has dropped a bit in the last 24 hours
(so our total miles per day has dropped a bit) but we expected that – it was all
part of the plan (honest – it was!).
Nishi speculated
that if a butterfly beat its wings in central Africa then, according to chaos
theory, we should have enough wind to blow us to St Lucia.
Bizarrely, a few minutes later, we were joined on board … by a moth! What are
the chances of that happening!? We’ve taken this as a good omen.
Key
facts:
Position (at
1200 GMT/UTC) –18.33n 40.29w
Distance
travelled (in 24 hrs to 1200 GMT/UTC) – 157 nautical miles
Total distance
travelled - 1539 nautical miles
Dinner –
(planned) Syd’s Moroccan lamb
Nishi’s beard
growth – Physics teacher
Random comment
of the day – “A peanut butter and jam sandwich on brown bread is much healthier
than a Snickers” - Annabel
