We are at 9:54.92N 38:53.20E Last night was forecast to be relatively calm -
but the forecasts rely on input from ships and there are no shipping lanes
within 300 miles of where we are, and no land within 1000 miles, so the
forecasts can be wrong - and they were. Far from a peaceful night, we spent
from 9pm to 9am dodging squalls which brought 30 knot winds, shifting in
direction by 30-40 degrees so we had to change our sail plan, 4 metre waves
which sometimes surfed Intrepid at 8 knots, sometimes left us in a trough
wallowing without wind as it passed over the top, sometimes just rolled us
then corkscrewed us, then threw us up 1 metre from our bunk then rolled 30
degrees left then 30 degrees right - you get the idea. Meanwhile the noise
of ropes creaking as they stretch, blocks groaning as they are put under
considerable strain, glasses clinking as they roll together, saucepans and
their lids bashing together, sails flapping as the waves and the roll take
their wind then fill again. OK, I know its not cold, its not icy, conditions
on British roads and public transport are far worse, but at night on a yacht
in a squall sometimes it makes even cool Britain which doesnt rock nor roll
seem very pleasant as a place to sleep.
But come the dawn we blearily recounted tales of exqusite moonlight on the
high seas, the stormy petrel (a tiny sea bird) which perched on our fender a
few nights ago, and the rain squalls which gave Intrepid a welcome shower.
Then lunch on seared wahoo with sweetcorn and mayo and Nic's freshly baked
bread, and life seems good, we are now only 840 miles from Cayenne in French
Guyana 6 days to go or so, we are starting to look at the maps, there is a
small jetty we think we can tie to, Nic dreams of there being a hose with
fresh water, (dream on), we can rent a car, explore, and Martin and Jonny
are thinking about when and how they can get a flight back to UK.
Andy
Sent by satellite phone, www.mailasail.com weblogs/intrepidofdover has our
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