38:15N 17:40W at 0800local =0900BST
Tramping along at 8-9 knots, one reef. Wind 15-18kts at 185degrees, more
than we expected this morning after 12-13 overnight, but pretty much in line
with BxWx forecast. COG off at 085, down from 95 overnight with that extra
wind at the moment. Overcast but sun trying to break through, sea
reasonably calm with perhaps 2m swell.
Everyone getting much more slick at this sailing. Marc just put in a reef
at high speed and back at the helm. We fixed the busted reef by stealing the
line for the third reef.
I am looking further east towards Gibraltar and it seems as though we might
get to Gibraltar without the usual force 7 we always seem to attract around
there. Much calmer Wednesday Thursday and Friday, force 2-3 forecast.
However, the day we plan to leave (Saturday) it's going to be about force er
seven, but behind us from West, so perhaps not too bad, we'll see.
Food dominates the day, much discussion of whether Mom of the day is going
to make bread and so on . Yesterday was MattD's turn, and he made
beefburgers, excellent stuff, with newly invented Mojomo coleslaw : cabbage,
carrots, apples, orange and mayo. I also like Karim's Tea which is tea
with cinnamon in it. We had JJ's Instant Cheese Lunch (lump of brie or
camembert, microwaved till gooey for about a minute, with mango chutney and
fresh bread) a few days ago, and that goes down a storm.
I have also taken the opportunity to instruct the crew about some basic
sailing theory. Like frinstance, what do we call the left hand side of the
boat, hm? Yes, we call it the "left hand side of the boat". Everyone
instantly knows where the left hand side of the boat is, and that's why I
used "left hand side of the boat" as identifier, whereas other words such as
Port or Starboard are not so automatic. Bit like saying what we call a dog?
and explaining that on board a boat a "dog" is called a "landbat". Bonkers.
Okay, some people use Port and the other side Starboard, but there again
some other people call it Babord and Tribord, so obviously anyone can call
it what they like. Speediest and mostly widely understood seems to be left
and right.
The Annapolis book of sailing we found on board is also (slightly) helpful
with boaty issues. It explains that thunder and lightning are indicators of
bad weather. Not sure if anyone thought they were indicators of a nice day,
but it's good to have these things clarified. I pointed out various clouds
to the crew, explaining that these were indicators of cloudiness. Lots of
clouds means "very cloudy" or even "overcast", and just a few indicates
"scattered clouds" to the extreme of "cloudless". People pay good money to
learn this sort of tripe.
Talking of people paying money reminds us of Horta in the Azores. The 60'
race boat (and three others owned by Ondeck, also in port) were packed with
crew who had each paid £4000 to cross the Atlantic. Eek. I wonder what
they thought when Dan told them we just split the food bill. Mind you,
they're all racy racy, none of this comfy cabins malarky. There again, they
were there when we arrived and last we saw of them as we were leaving they
we thinking about getting fuel, but the fuel dock was rafted three deep, so
not that racy eh?.
In case anyone was wondering, we did some excellent signage/vandalism with
Pat's stencil in Horta: four colour Mojomo signs with beige background
around the port, and six last-minute fluorescent Mojomo names dotted around
on the
arrival quay. I tried to send pix but the satphone won't have it, even with
640x 480.
Finally an update from Halifax, Nova Scotia. MattD's parents have sorted
out the lawn in nice weather yesterday - twenty degrees! - but rain is
forecast for today. No news about Uncle Gerald's possible new van. Matt
says a Toyota is very possible since his mum and dad like Toyotas and have
had six (he thinks, not sure, might be five) in the past fifteen years
because they're so reliable. There again, if they're so darn reliable I
wonder why they didn't just keep the first one, eh?
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