Azores to Dartmouth, Day 3 - Saturday
June 5, 2010
At 1200 hrs UT:
42:44.5N 26:45.2W
Distance to Dartmouth: 1055 Nautical
Miles
Well,
today we were a contender for the Knightime's record of 'most windless day yet'.
We bobbed along at about the rate of the Portuguese-Man-o-War which still
pass us by daily, for some of the day. The long, low, rolling seas and
gently rocking boat are beautifully serene, but our slow progess can be
frustrating so we motor-boated (both for comfort and for speed) on and off
throughout the day.
The
4 hour shift rotation has made a big difference to the Kinghtrider's lives,
we are a sleepy, quiet crew today as we all steal winks at every
precious opportunity.
Even
our marine life visit of the day was calm and silent, but the
nevertheless beautiful. A group of large dolphins/small
whales/possibly porpoises popped up their dorsal fins and blow holes a few
meters from the boat. It was a fleeting visit before they disappeared back
down into the ocean depths. Again, our collective expertise on marine
mammals fails us, and we wonder if anyone else can identify todays
visitors - charcoal black, bulbous headed, 10-12 foot long - any ideas?
Answers on a postcard/in a bottle, please.
Finally
some nautical details for those interested in our route. We're currently heading
North to reach a point where, according to Hoff, the Gulf Stream splits around
and through the land mass of Europe. Here we can pick up the Northwest
current which will sweep us in to the English Channel, neatly avoiding the
notoriously rough Bay of Biscay.
As
we write, we have just polished off one of Martin's famous strawberry rice
puddings, the wind has picked up, the sails are billowing nicely again, and
the fishing line is having a dusk-time dip, so fingers crossed...
Until
tomorrow,
Charlotte
+
Hoff, Martin & Michael (Beer)
