We went through 40 degrees west at dawn this morning, yippee.    A bit like

seeing 100,000 miles click up on a speedo.   

 

 

The wind has dropped a bit and the seas are less macho than they were. 

 

Some signs that we are in the tropics :

a couple of days ago a tropicbird flapped up, circled the boat a couple of

time, then moseyed off, a brave little creature 1,200 miles from the nearest

land; since then we have seen a few more, also a skua skimming the waves.

The rain from the squalls, which were very frequent yesterday, is warm.

 

 

Another mahimahi fish yesterday, a bit larger than the first, about 2.5

kilos - straight into the freezer for lunch today.  We left the line

trailing and then we got another bite.  Ben D grabbed the rod and bravely wrestled

with the catch, finally landing it to the cockpit...

 

 

 

A Great Atlantic Fighting Plastic Bag.    (This can have done a turtle a good

deed - the poor beasts swallow plastic bags thinking they are jellyfish)

 

****

Most of the day on our boat there is a murmur of conversation - affable,

collegiate, convivial.  And eclectic.  Some recent topics, apart from all

things boats and sailing, are:

 

Stars and how to tell Jupiter from Mars

Sheep rearing

Anecdotes (many from Glennbo)

Food, cooking, chef's tips (mainly Teresa)

Bicycles I have owned

The Christian faith

How to go round corners fast on motorbikes

Atheism, and where did the universe come from

Favourite heroes in crime thrillers

Sea poems (see our occasional feature "Culture Corner")

How can Elton John play fancy chords with stubby little fingers

How to use a sextant (we have a sextant, folks)

The words of every blues song known to mankind (Ben D)

The words of some of the others (Gregor)

Transactional analysis (Ben S)

Quotes from Withnail & I

The perils of life on board a cruise yacht (Mark)

Why the Pacific Ocean is boring

Why the Atlantic is not

How to shave a 2 week beard without blocking the filters

 

It is noon GMT (10am ship’s time) and everyone is up.  Teresa is working out how to deal with the fish for lunch – some sashimi, and some ceviche (cured with lemon marinade), Ben S is helping in the galley, sorting doggy from usable vegetables.  Glenn and Ben D are on watch and Mark is in the cockpit with them.  Loads of talking and fun; the late morning and lunch is the main time when we are all together, not so much in the evening.   The sun is shining and I am just about to go upstairs (or “on deck” as we boaties say)

 

The crew of this good ship wish you all a happy day; thanks for reading

 

G