Mercury Rising Becalmed
Mercury-rising
Tue 22 Nov 2005 20:48
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After the flying start off Las Palmas, hampered
only slightly by our late arrival at the start line where we saw the entire
fleet had left without waiting for us, we find ourselves at the mercy of the
weather. What would be a glorious summer's day in England (blue sky, hot sun) is
a curse to us as we drift around in almost windless conditions.
If it wasn't for our iron discipline we would be
bickering about which route we should have taken, but instead we busy oursleves
with tasks to make sure the boat continues to run as a finely-tuned racing
machine - eating, reading, listening to music and fishing. Skipper has shown
remarkable skill in this area (winds in the reel and finds a fish attached).
Single-handedly he has blown a hole in the entire EU Fisheries
quota.
Highlight of the day was a visit from a pod (?)
whoop (?), flange (?) of dolphins.They stayed with the boat for about 15
minutes, clustered around the fore-foot as if trying to touch the boat with
their backs.
 Tomorrow the weather forecast says we might get
some winds, which will make us all a lot happier. Only consolation is that
we have not had the rain and storms some others on different routes have
had.
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