Another day at sea.....

Sarah Grace goes to sea
Chris Yerbury and Sophy White
Mon 19 Dec 2005 12:26
Another Day at sea.......position N14' 50'W 
We are still whizzing along.  This is mainly due to racing mentality on board, we are no longer cruisers, we are racers.  We are racing against Santa Claus, and it is a very serious business.   Can you remember the drums and the waves of the Guiness Bitter advertisement?  Well,  that's what it is like here....huge waves, tension, hand helming, spinakker snapping in the wind, watching the squalls roll in, with more sail changes needed.  We are not sparing the horses!  We have given up using the hydrovane, and use the autohelm, because it keeps the boat straighter, and therefore faster, as you don't leave a meandering wake.  This means that we have to charge the batteries more often, buy hey, that means you can motor as well and get an extra knot for a couple of hours.  Our wake is fizzing, rushing out behind us like a river in spate.   Chris goes round muttering with a calculator, saying, 'We have to maintain an average speed of six knots to get there on time.'
We are beginning to hope that we might win, and be able to drop the anchor on Christmas eve............Keep blowing everyone!!!
 
Lunch: ?noodles     supper: corned beef hash with pasta, pudding: biscuits