Nearly There!!

Christine's Atlantic Circuit
Peter Lansdale
Fri 9 Dec 2016 07:58
13:35N 53:17W
 
It's Peter here (crew, not Skipper) and it's Friday 0330.
 
We now have just under 500 miles to go and so we are nearly there!  Well maybe not - I guess it's the same distance as crossing Biscay.  However, all yesterday we sailed through vast quantities of seaweed so surely we must be near land (even if the current is running West!). Perhaps more important is that we now have well established winds (F5/6) in the right direction and predicted to hold up for the rest of the journey.
 
For nearly three weeks now we have been sailing in a world suspended in time, in a pleasant routine of watches and meals, with no news except about the other ARC boats.  St Lucia was just a distant dream whereas now it has a ETA (overnight Sunday/Monday) and family waiting for my arrival. 
 
So I guess we are now more focused on arriving than travelling.  Also with the stronger winds and larger swell sleeping has not been so easy with the boat rolling and, up in the bow where I rest my head, you can really feel the acceleration as the boat lurches from side to side - it's like sleeping in a rollercoaster. 
 
Our food has lasted well - we ate the last of the fresh meat two nights ago (actually, fresh, vacuum packed, frozen by the butcher, and kept in our icebox) and most of the vegetables have held up well - the main exception were the leeks, the last of which went overboard as a foul-smelling liquid yesterday.  The surprising successes have been the iceberg lettuce and cucumber, both kept in the fridge and still going strong after 3 weeks.  And we have not needed many tins - a tin of mushroom, a couple of tins of sweet corn, tomatoes for cooking, and chick peas to make hummus.  Our concern about how and where to store the rubbish has not turned out to be a problem, with all biodegradables overboard there really is very little else left to store. 
 
As for cooking, that has been a lot easier and more enjoyable than I expected.  I have cooked most of the evening meal and now feel completely at home cooking at sea.  When I met Peter a year ago I had never cooked on a moving boat and the prospect was a little intimidating.
 
So although there are still 500 miles to go, I have this emerging feeling of: OK, done that, what next?  Easy to answer tha:t enjoy dry land for a bit - St Lucia's beaches and rain forest (umm... dry land?).