Oh where, oh where have the Trade winds gone?

Karinya
Tim And Vicki Schofield, Captain Cal 7 and Jess 4
Thu 25 Nov 2010 00:48
22.43N  021.27W
No wind all day, not even a breath.  what better way to spend a few minuites than having a swim in the middle of the Atlantic.  Yes we did.  We stopped the engines ( not messing about sailing in 2 knots of wind) and jumped or slid in.  It was about 27 degrees in there, and absolutley amazing.  The sea was the colour of a deep azure blue, not a ripple, just like glass.  And what should swim by, but 2 schools of Dorado.  You could see their colours under the water, bright yellow, turquoise and blue/green.  Unfortunatley, the previous night we had Dorado fresh fresh for dinner.  What a treat during a hard day of powering.  this was preceeded by 2 schools of Dolphins on the bows. 
We are all relaxing into it a little more now.  Less nausea, and the children are moving about more.  I managed to bake bread which actually looked like bread, and got the thumbs up from the big boys, but the kids have yet to brave it.  Culinary skills are the highlight of my day, with my creating feasts of lasagne, Lotties Thai Pork dish (yum yum) but the best yet was the Dorado, pan fried with pepper and salt, a drizzle of olive oil and lemon, served with a crunchy carrot and orange salad (which evidently i was the only one who liked it, as i am still eating it) and mini rosti potatos.  Think i should be on masterchef dont you?
Looking at the leader board, we are the 5th CAT out of 15, which i think is fab, good old Tim eh?  you can check our progress on the ARC 2010/World cruising club website, and go into Fleetviewer.
Tim had his first net controller meeting today.  for those of you who havent a clue what i mean - the whole fleet of boats is divided into groups and communicate daily over the SSB Radio (long range radio).  We check position, weather, safety with each other.  But we also try to make it fun.  yesterday there was a fishing competion hosted by another boat.  We came a close second.  We have had a great menu of the day with vertual cocktails, and wine choice, and today Tim ran a Trivia quiz, all questions based on the Caribbean.  It seemed to go down well and we will find out the winner tomorrow on air.
More mundane things like school is starting tomorrow, but very lightly.  now the children are settled they need more to stimulate their minds.
We are now heading in the right direction of St Lucia and hope to pick up the trade winds soon - wherever they are.
Will try to post a photo most days so keep reading and keep the emails coming in, it really is great to hear your news even if you think it is boring, it is not to us.
Thats all for now folks.
 
 
 
Christians first fish, a Dorado measuring 35 inches.  check out the smile on christians face!