28 49.1N, 14 30.7W

Libeccio
Fri 10 Oct 2014 20:23
Todays headlines: Culinary capers; its a wild life out here; how many days can a full moon last?

Greetings!

First an apology- we had intended on sending a “Land Ahoy” (or, “Land Yo!" if Bill Sweeney was with us- he is from NY) when we first saw the outline of Isla de Alegranza this morning around 06:30 local time… but, Kevin was on watch and too busy enjoying the sight and forgot to send the update. You see, for the past two days each watch has progressively less to report- with fewer and fewer ships in “our” ocean. Mike was bragging last night that he saw three boats- none closer than 15 miles, but, the rest of us were green with envy (at least it wasn’t induced my motion sickness).

It is during the daylight hours that things really get going— relatively speaking — and it has been another interesting day both on and off of Libeccio.

The Great British Bake Off continued with Mike ("I can’t bake") Clare pretending to take some advice from Jane and then turning in the (so far) winning Loaf of Bread for the week. If you have seen an Aussie celebrate their sporting triumphs you can get an idea of what the rest of us have had to put up with today.

Suffice it to say that, inspired by such a performance, Andy (I can sleep anywhere) Tivenan proceeded to present a particularly plentiful platter of picnic pieces of phood (OK, a bit of a stretch). Where else can you enjoy the views of the Canary Islands whilst feasting on a seven course luncheon, including fresh bread made by winner of the British Bake Off (Libeccio version).

One of the highlights of the trip has been the significant increase in the “wild life”… sorry to disappoint the younger contingent but there is not a hint of fluorescent clothing to be seen. Today alone we encountered 4 different pods of dolphins, a few turtles, increasing number of birds and what might have been small (pilot?) whales, in the distance. It is a real treat when you come across a larger pod of dolphins as, once one of them “sees” the boat, they all come racing to play around the bow. At one point today we had about 15 or so playing along at the same time. We all run to the bow, peer over the front and get a great deal of pleasure watching them dodge each other and zig zag in front. Then, just as quickly as they arrived, they all leave. Its like someones mum caught them playing away from the main pod and called them back.

There has been a debate raging on the boat as to when and what was a full moon as well as the timing of the rise and fall of the moon relative to the sun. While I am not permitted to divulge the two parties principally driving the debate nor which of the two claimed to have THE definition- let me say that it a truce has been called as we have, somewhat unusually, had a full moon for the past 5 days! Peace has now returned to the breakfast table.

The competitive spirit was not only limited to the lofty topics of astronomy, but, also in the real heart of the boat— the kitchen. It would seem that Jane (its always the quiet ones, isn’t it) has had just about enough strutting by the gentlemen on the boat and their bragging about their culinary abilities. First it was Andy’s slag bolognese, followed by Mikes signature chicken pasta and then Kevin’s (perfectly cooked) steaks. Tonight she put us all in our places by producing a master class in how to put on a proper dinner: Pork tenderloin wrapped in prosciutto, together with peppers and lentils broiled, fresh mange tout, hand made apple sauce. If that was not enough, she ripped the GBBO.trophy out of Mike’s hands by producing a killer apple pie! We are humbled, although Mike’ s battalion of legal advisers are still researching if an apple pie fits within the rules of the GBBO.

We are rapidly closing in on Las Palmas- there are approximately 70nm between us and cold beer (did we mention that we run a dry boat on passages). As the marina office doesn’t open until 09:30 we have had to slow down the boat (yes, slow it down) so that we don’t arrive too early. It will have been almost 6 days exactly since departing Gibraltar and it has gone very quickly- more reflections on this in tomorrow’s missive.

One good think about arriving tomorrow— no more stupid o’clock watches!

Best wishes,

The cast and crew of Libeccio
(the pilot of the reality show is already being marketed to the major studios)