Day 18 - And they wait

Sawsealady
David Moore
Wed 13 Dec 2006 12:13
" 15:18N 55:58W "
 
Day 18 - and they wait
 
And they wait.... and they wait.... just like they did in the Guiness ad.  Except we've had our surf and now we are mellowing out in calmer waters waiting for the towering green hilltops of St. Lucia to loom up on the horizon.  Roll on, roll on.  Everyone seems to be sleeping sounder than ever, not so much motion in the ocean these days.  Despite covering watch hours for the ailing Philippa - an indecent attack of tonsilitis - everyone is managing well.  Not long left now. 
 
Considering some of the disasters occuring on other yachts, we seem - so far - to have come off lightly.  A boat full of Scots lost their mast a day before the finish line; two others on a Bavaria 38 lost their rudder and under distress and exhaustion found they couldn't substitute it so sent out a mayday and abandoned ship.  Quite a salvage.  There have been other reports of yachts hitting whales, and ending up with jury sails, an epirb being let off, and skippers having breakdowns.  Well, we struggled with the tiredness but got used to it, and now just have a day to go.
 
I had been looking forward to this trip for the best part of the year, and now that it is all but behind us I wonder where the hell it went.  Not so long ago we were fitting and fixing in France.  So what have we learnt? Well - it's all about the preparation.  As Ben Kingsley said in Sexy Beast, "It's not sudden. Preparation. Preparation. Preparation."  What an adventure.  Thanks to David and Teri, Philippa, Richard, Donald and Peter, and not forgetting Mike - just about to try that Tuna bake now ;-). It has been a true pleasure.    
 
 
                                                                        OSCAR