improving

Panatlantic
Thu 20 Dec 2007 14:42
hello from sunny.....somewhere in the atlantic!
as you will know 2 nights ago we spent the night on the sea anchor and were both confined to the very small cabin. for those of you who have seen the boat the cabin is approximately 6 feet by 3 feet at its widest so i just about fit in on my own. the 2 of us in there was awful with little ventilation and niall spreading his legs wider and wider as the night went on. i found a fierce elbow timed with a wave breaking on the boat was enough for him to wake up and readjust. i spent most of the night watching films on my ipod but managed to catch a few hours sleep. come 9am the next day and id had enough, the wind wasnt perfect but i couldnt stand the thought of more time in the cabin so hauled in the sea anchor and gave it a go. fortunately the boat moved along at a reasonable pace and it wasnt too hard to stay on course, the main problem was that the waves were coming from the side rather than behind so i was knocked from my seat on several occasions. its difficult to describe the feeling of seeing a huge wave approaching from the side and not knowing if the boat will be knocked over. the boat is performing amazingly well though and we havent come close to a capsize.
today the weather has been much better, this morning the wind was behind us and we were making excellent progress, this afternoon the wind has dropped but we are still at a resonable pace. plus the sun is shining and the music on nialls notorious mp3 player has took an unexpected turn for the better.
 
a quick note that we are now on the radio everyday at 10.25am as jed and kate pitman head over to brazil for the festive season.
 
the nights are getting easier, we both listen to our own choice of music and i think about what its going to be like to finish. i imagine just utter relief! i have decided id like my first meal to be a massive t-bone steak, chips and salad washed down with an ice cold magners. im pretty sure they wont have magners in antigua but hopefully my dad will bring along a bottle! suprisingly i havent really craved anything whilst being at sea, the main thing would be a comfy bed and more than 40 minutes sleep at a time. we'l see if i have any real cravings as the time goes on.
 
im glad to say that the beard is coming on well, in a week or so i may have enough to trim it and fill in nialls missing parts! everyman in there lifetime should grow a proper beard but im looking forward to shaving it off asap.
 
well thats me for now, hi to everyone at home.
 
james