Trade wind sailing
Rhapsode
Sat 27 Nov 2010 13:00
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04 48 S 29 44 W
I think this is as good as it gets - the weather
has been fantastic - a force 4 / 5 just forward of the beam. Beautiful blue seas
and sky for the most part (a bit squally on the night watches) and the boat is
racing along at around 6 knots. As Homer might have put it (No, not that
Homer) - The swift-hulled ship sailing over
the wine-dark sea. Mind you, I never understood why the sea was always wine-dark
in Homer's world. Surely he must have looked out at times other than when a red
sunset coloured the sea? Or did the Ancient Greeks have wine that ranged in
colour from dark shades of grey to bright blue? Personally I prefer my wine to
be burgundy coloured. Bright blue? Urghhh!
Nevertheless, the sailing is so good. The swell is
still with us but with very few of the 4 metre ones coming through. So we're
spending less time going up and down and more time going forwards. I happened to
mention to Andrew a few minutes ago that land has nothing to offer when compared
to the experience of creaming along in 20 knots of wind out here in the South
Atlantic. No sooner said than I got a big dunking. Wet through from top to
toe via my salty shorts.
Do you suppose that Neptune is trying to tell me
something? He must be fed up with us and our peelings by now.
!It was only three or four days ago when we were in
the doldrums that we were wondering whether we would arrive this year. Now we
are beginning to believe that we only have a week left before we get those samba
rythyms playing in our ears.
A ship passed us a couple of hours ago.
A large fishing boat really but the first sign of
other human life in ten days.
P, M & A
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