Newsletter  8:   14 December 2007 

Day:                                                               6

Position:                                                       21:48.126N  30:00.649W 

Approx Miles from San Sebastian:              928 

Approx Miles to go to Road Town:              1890                                                                 

Note:  All times are GMT time, and will be for the whole trip.

            Miles are Nautical Miles, where 1 mile = 1.8 km

            Ohh, for those non-nautically orientated, a 'knot', among other things,  is 1 nautical mile per hour

            If it seems all funny units...its not, there is a very good basis: 1 nautical mile is equal to one minute of latitude on the earth's surface.

Hello Friends, and Supporters,

No I wasn't on cocaine yesterday and have now disappeared in a haze of fantasy world!  And I am not losing it,just feeling pretty relaxed 'out here' Provided all is well on Solone, and I have her tweaked to go as fast as possible, there is not much else to worry about!

Talking about going as fast as possible.....Well yesterday was a disappointing day, with only 150 miles done. It started off so amazingly well after noon GMT yesterday. Wind was a lovely 18-20 knots, almost on the beam and Solone looked destined for a 220-240 mile day. Conditions were so good, with a nice following sea, that I 'drove' for nearly three hours, having real fun surfing the odd wave. It does feel good when the boat and driver are in unison and there seems like there is a special 'groove' in the sea that just allows her to power along. I know we are about to take off on a huge rollercoaster when I see the bow lined up down a wave, bow wave already lapping onto the deck, rudders perfectly neutral, and then off she goes.....careering down the swell, making that all to pleasant humming sound as the skegs vibrate just the little bit, with the huge force of water gushing past. There were literally flying fish jumping out everywhere as they leave their seawater environment for the freedom of flight, saying goodbye to their hunter, and then landing with a re-entry dive hundreds of metres from where their confused purser last saw them. Isn't nature amazing...so many different life games and played in so many ways by such a diversely beautiful range of players! 

Just had to head outside, as the genoa was making a funny sound.... Sod's law again.... the leeward sheet had caught itself around the forward hatch and was preventing the sail from setting properly! I have the hatch open in these lighter airs so I get a nice breeze through the cabin, and allowing the Jamon curing process to continue! It's very nice and warm out here...I measured the sea temperature today and it was 24 deg C. Can't complain about that! Back to where I was.....

These wonderful sailing conditions continued through my dinner (more below), but sadly around 9pm it all started slowing down the night was a gentle breeze, pushing Solone along at 4-6 knots, but giving me easy one hour sleeps, with little to do on waking each time! Then around 4pm it all died to virtually nothing, with sails slamming, boom violently trying to break free of its restraints, and the peace was gone. Wind picked up a bit, more easterly and I was caught with a unplanned gybe, and difficult decisions on which tack to take....knowing that if the easterly continued my short cut strategy was in jeopardy. Eventually around 8am, thankfully  it settled back to the more north east direction, but still very light, and giving boatspeed of 3-5 knots. It has been like this right till a few minutes ago when it looks like things have picked up a bit, but we will see!  The only rush I have is to try and get to Road Town just as Ruth arrives on the 26th! (Hey now that doesn't mean I am not trying to get there earlier? Ofcourse I'd prefer a beer or a nice glass of wine with my romantic dinners, even if it is a dinner for one!

Hmmm...just checked the speed..... A lovely 8.5 knots...lets hope it lasts...tends to build-up in the afternoon and then drop off. I am hoping the trades proper will be more 24 hour consistent.

I haven't spoken about my scarce resource management! Power was a big worry before the start, but it working great, with having to run the engine barely an hour a day. I have been frugal with usage, and sea conditions haven't been real tough for the autopilot, and when that happens the power consumption rockets. So all good now and much diesel saved! I won't say brought along un-necessarily yet!! In sailing and the sea, One never knows.....but tries to be always prepared!

I know you are dying to hear about my dinner last night! (tongue in cheek, ok...this is my fun part so skip if its boring or self indulgent! Read into it that I am happy!)

Well Restaurant Solone was booked out by one person last night...said he wanted a special quiet and 'romantic' dinner, on his own! Sad OR Special...You can decide!

The little known, hugely resourceful and maybe soon to be the new Jamie Oliver, served up one of his amazing 'One Pot' exotic dishes, the type you find difficult to find in modern day restaurants. The main course consisted of the last available, medium size aubergines, finely diced fresh carrots, chopped Spanish onions which in their deep purple-ness, added both 'colour exotic-ness' and  distinctive flavour. To this was added 'devilishly chunked' fresh tomatoes, and then the masterful touch, and chef's secret......Sierra Nevada cured Jamons.....a real Spanish delicacy! The art with the Jamon, is thinly shaving it freshly off the bone, selecting the less cured section of the leg, and ensuring a moist and generous sliver of natural fat is included on each slice. This fine balance enables one to cook the dish without the addition of oils, and fusing the delicious pork taste into the vegetables.  This is all then cooked in a flat shallow pan with a lid ensuring maximum flavour retention and occasional turning of the contents producing the a very appetising looking exotic dish!

Desert consisted of exotic Spanish mixed tinned fruit, followed by Swiss Milka chocolate being taken from the slab and delicately chopped into the design size squares!

The restaurant closed just after moonrise, with last night being the largest, and brightest, sliver of moon I have seen so far, providing a wonderful reflection on the now calming sea. I then retired to bed......The one difference with this restaurant, is that the customer has to cleanup afterwards! One pot though and paper towels, makes it pretty easy! So you see lots of benefits with this secret and exotic dish...don't steal the recipe...I didn't give it all to you!  After the dishes it was then off to bed.... ohh set the alarm clock first....for 1 hour's time!  Yes without my alarm clock I'd be lost! It goes off every hour during the 13 hrs of the night! I Often I get up before it goes off, but then forget to switch it off.... The length of time it takes to ring before I wake is a good measure of how tired I am!

Today after accepting the slow progress news, I set about having a REAL positive and productive day:

It started with a beautiful shower on the deck....yes, I coated my self in sea water lathering soap, and then poured buckets of sea water all over me..... sounds basic...but ooh so nice. Solone does have a 'proper' freshwater shower down below, but somehow I keep that for Ruth, and I prefer the outdoor style. Thought about shaving but decided against it.....maybe see what 3 weeks growth looks like. Gave myself a much needed foot manicure, and then a wonderful face massage. I can see why women pay for this and so often!

After that it was down to my 1 hr a day Spanish lesson, with a cup of green tea!  And now hear I am doing this.

The wind has picked up even more, and Solone is starting to hum an bit as the occasional 11 knots is reached. It still doesn't feel like a building and strong wind, but we will enjoy it while it lasts. I'll have to curt off soon and start focusing on the sailing and tweaking. 

I do wonder how many people are reading this blog........???  Hmmm.... maybe you can give me some feedback on my howfair {CHANGE TO AT} bigpond account sometime.... But I'll only be able to read it once I get to Tortola. Satphone time is expensive and I try and keep the bandwidth open for weather files, this email excluded.

Ok its been fun today...hope I have enlightened your day in some small way!

Roll on the Trade winds, and take care

Howard

PS:  This email has just reminded me of one of my favourites:   "Time and what we do with it is the most valuable and important thing we can control"  If so why do so many people see to loose their control over it, to gods and demons that don't provide happiness!!  Ooops ...sorry!