The girls have been complaining about itchy heads and dirty, salt encrusted hair. They haven’t been able to shower since leaving Fernando de Noronha which seems a very long time ago now. It seems probable that the ship’s beetles have built nests in their hair.

 

The engine has been on since about half past two yesterday afternoon. The wind died completely and left the sails flapping and slatting which was putting a big strain on the rig. So down went the sails and on went the engine. And guess what? We are going too fast! The current is now over three knots and whereas we were wondering whether we’d get in on the 13th we are now poised to arrive early on the 11th. At some point we’ll have to slow down so as to arrive after sunrise.

 

Since we look as though we’ll have a day in hand now I’m wondering whether to go into Kourou to get water so that the girls can relieve their itchy heads and evacuate the beetles. I’m hoping to get some info about the availability of water in Kourou over night. Being in French Guiana we might even find a baguette and some decent cheese which would make a pleasant change to our diet.

 

The last 12 hours has been a sea life special. Michael heard dolphins blowing on his night watch and then this morning Liz spotted some acrobatic fish. They jumped out of the water, did a somersault and then dived back in again. Soon after Michael spotted a shark which perhaps explained the behaviour of the acrobatic fish. But the best of all was a spectacular display by a pod of dolphins. They somersaulted, jumped, walked on their tails and played around the boat for about half an hour. With no wind the sea was calm so we could see them so close and so clearly. They turned over to look at us (Michael waved at them and they wiggled back) and we could see the small cleaner fish that attached themselves to them. Can’t wait to show you the pics – including mother and baby dolphins.

 

Update on the  beetle nests – Michaela had a minimum hair wash finishing with a bottle of ice cold water from the fridge poured over her by Michael whilst she hung her head over the side. I hope those poor beetles can swim!

 

P, L, M & M