Transatlantic Passage Day 8, 18 January 2013

Petronella
Fri 18 Jan 2013 22:29
15:15.40N 40:27.12W
 
Fast sailing overnight was followed by a variable period for a while during the day with the wind veering to the south east when we progressed under mainsail and lapped yankees. Noon to noon run was 168nm. We changed back to twin headsails before dark as the forecast is for the winds to return to easterlies overnight.
 
What do we do all day?  The established routine is that breakfast is conjured up around 1000 when everyone is awake again following the night watches. This normally takes the form of a brunch to keep us going through the day. There are always jobs to be done on board, routine maintenance, cleaning and minor repairs, and of course changes to the sail arrangements as the wind changes, but usually this still leaves plenty of time for reading and relaxing.  Although the towed generator helps to keep the batteries topped up we also run the diesel generator once a day. Recently we have also started to run the watermaker (Reverse Osmosis system) to generate
freshwater from seawater to top up the tanks (900litres when full).
                                                                  
                                                                    Geoff replaces a chafed lashing
 
We aim to have the main meal of the day around 2100. So far we have been able to make use of fresh vegetables and meat from the freezer but these stocks are now starting to run low. We still have plenty of fresh fruit and tomatoes and must remember to take a few green bananas out from their dark store each day to ripen on deck.
Night watches start at 2200 with Martin and Tina taking the first watch until 0100. Peter and Geoff alternatively each take the 0100 to 0400 and 0400 to 0700  watches, swapping round each night.  Each day seems to slip quite quickly by into the next.