the butter finally melts!

Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Sun 22 Nov 2009 11:01
Yahoo! but no Wahoo, we are now sailing too fast for fishing yesterday clocking our first 200 mile day. We are at position 17:34.95N 026:22.15W at 1000 utc Sunday 22nd November. The last 24 hours to 0800 we sailed 231 nm and we are on for the same again for this day (1200 to 1200). We have however had to sail downwind a long way south to pick up any favourable wind. To achieve these averages we need and have had winds of F5 - 6, 22 knots to 25 knots at 140degrees true. We will probably sail over 3200 miles - why? - because its fun.
 
Today the skipper is hosting a cockpit party from 1400 - 1600 to celebrate turning right and as a thank you to the crew for keeping a safe ship and a happy ship. Long may it continue. Plan for day as follows: morning "off watch" to sleep or get some rest at least and then a freshen up and tidy up of cabins etc. Midday announcement of plan for party. Lunch of flying fish. squid and fresh bread by Roddy. We will probably have to depower afetr lunch for a couple of hours so we can be secure. 1400 Welcome drink and toast to safe and happy ship by skipper. Reply to toast by Craig. Nibbles by Murdo. Opening ceremony (featuring song by skipper) of the Awards Ceremony featuring a Lucky draw for prize of presenting a song, a yarn, or a mime to a song - all. Awards for safest pair of hands, fastest run on watch, best scam of the week,  first night passage (Trish's first full night passage involved setting off from Gibraltar to cross the Atlantic - no messing eh!), and  a special prize for the best representation of the "butter melting". Press inteviews to follow.      
 
All finished off after dinner with cofee and chocolate, and the two evening watches deferred and shortened to three hours covered by me. Lets hope the rig stays up, because all this is happening at 9.5 knots.
 
I'm off to wash and prepare the press launch for the day!