Boarded by fish
S/Y Pelerin
Colin Speedie & Louise Johnson
Sun 25 Nov 2012 16:41
Last night was the most wonderful sailing, though, with the wind astern, and the swell much reduced we were gliding along making really good speeds, until the wind dropped light again at first light. The moon is well up at the moment, and so the nights are luminous and bright, which makes watch keeping more interesting, as you can watch the play of the light on the water. Not as interesting as the flying fish that arrived aboard at around 4 am, hitting our sprayhood with aloud whomp that shook me, to say the least. A good sized one, it cascaded into the cockpit then started fluttering madly on the floor, allowing me the time to gather my wits, grab a torch and identify who our mystery guest could be. As we’ve been watching them with great pleasure for the last few days I didn’t have the heart to despatch him to the frying pan, so back he went… aaaah!
Less mending of things today, which is a real relief, although I suspect that we’ve just postponed some things until we get to Dakar – but hopefully nothing drastic.
We’ve been using our AIS system all the way, which enables us to receive information on their course and speed, so helping us to avoid them. One other item the AIS also includes is that of final destination. Lou, ever inquisitive, looked at one tanker heading North destination – Milford Haven! I very nearly called them up to say ‘turn around before it’s too late’….
Love to all
Colin & Lou