Day 7 - 9.6 knots

Sawsealady
David Moore
Sat 2 Dec 2006 12:03
 
"21:15.874N 27:20.000W"
 
Day 7
 
More ripped than Van Winkle
 
The good news is it's Saturday, the sun is high in the sky a steady force 7 with Gale 8 gusts is pushing us along like a dude in a beach boys surf film.  It's more rock and roll than Ozzy Osbourne.  There are two reefs in the main and a small amount of gib out.  David has become interested in the quarter hour breakdowns of average speeds listed on the Navtex, and at point this morning we were hitting 9.6 knots.
 
A huge sea has built up and flying fish are whizzing by.  There are a  few Petrels about, and the odd fellow yacht.  After seven days we are making very good progress following the Christopher Columbus route.  No need for the spinnaker at the moment.  It was up and down 4 times yesterday with running repairs being made on split seams. More than infuriating! The first 'All hands on deck' was called by Philippa just as I'd scored 14 points on the scrabble board with 'witch'.
 
Advent calendars are out, although in the heat they seem highly irregular.  The nearly full moon helps us through the night, but watch conversation has resorted to nursery rhymes!