Fw: N17 16 W27 52 Sunday 11th 1000 GMT

Spirit of Isis
On Deck /Colin
Sun 11 Nov 2007 14:48
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Rod Jones
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 4:45 PM
Subject: N17 16 W27 52 Sunday 11th 1000 GMT

17 16 N 27 52W
Arrive Friday afternoon in Mindelo from Sal, and after dumping our gear on the boat we all headed for the beach, you could tell we were a serious race crew as we walked past all the other boats stowing food, scrubbing bilge boards and generally busy. Mind you they had been there nine days, in a one pub town!!
 
General impression of these islands after you land on the moonscape of Sal is that they have nice beaches, great wind and not a lot else !!
 
Sat 1200 local time we crossed the line at Sao Vincente Mindelo, with various degrees of hangover following a good meal and various drinks in the local bar. It was a social hour to let go and get worked up, 0930, however things did not go according to plan as the mainsail had a problem and we had to lower it and jury rig a fitting at the head, but we made the line just in time and got off to a great start only to  drop the Genoa in the water a few minutes later - oops - will not say who was on the halyard at the time !!.
No problem the slick crew had it on board in no time at all and soon  we were leading the 3 boats that headed north, whil;st one went South.
Soon with Spinnaker set we were breezing along at 13knots and only 2000 miles to go, great it looked like we were in for a great ride and x (OK it was Marcus) said this was great lets look forward to Barbados.
Next minute we hit a violent wind shear and spent the next 5 hours bobbing around like a cork as the wind came from every direction.
However the wind eventually soted itself out and we set off at 300 degrees with a headsail set and dinner served.
Ollie did a great Thai curry and all were impressed.
All are :-
Marcus - tour guide
Ian - now known as Rudulf Nureyv due to his fancy footwork around the decks.
Ollie - chef, cabin boy and every other job !
Toby - Legal assistance in case of deep sea collisions
Murray - token Aus on board, apparently can also look after the finances.
Bruce -
Rod - thought this was a warm trip, frozen last night, been in Dubai too long
Tony -
Patrick -
Stewart - definitely an old sea dog.
Andrew -