Midnight we had made it as far as 17:13.54N 57:59.86W – Sunday 21^st of December, 2008.

Engine Time – 0 Hours

Late last night about who knows when I spotted another light on the water, we put the timer on and watched it’s movement. It did not go far after about 30 minutes so I called it up on the VHF. Anyhow I said this is sailing yacht Silk Sheets calling and the guy comes back and say’s hi I know your boat and reeled off about a half dozen places he had seen us. It turns out we knew his boat also and there you have it I made a friend at sea on the water in the middle of the Atlantic. He is a single-handed sailor on a similar route to Fi and I possibly heading for Aus or NZ. We agreed we would meet at the pub for a drink as soon as we get in. To top it off he is going to find us a spot to anchor and guide us in if it is dark when we arrive. You can forget the chance we will be heaving too in the middle of the Atlantic to wait for sunrise. No way we are going to go straight in come rain or shine.

Fi has gone on a fish strike which means she will probably starve to death!  The poor little thing has had enough of eating fish every day for every meal. I can not understand why. Anyhow I have had to can the Tuna that I had falling out of the fridge. The whole exercise went very well which I was very happy about considering I have never done it before. I successfully put about 3Kg of Tuna meat into jar’s. I used fine quality olive oil as the medium or filler and then seasoned each jar with a little salt and in one jar I also added some pepper corns. The great thing now is a can put the jars in the cupboard and they will last for years or until I get hungry. I can then catch more fish.

I think as soon as I make land I will pick up one of those bottle crates that separate the bottles to stop them rattling and then I will fill it with jars. This way I can fish all I like and there will be all the room in the world to keep my catch. The whole process takes 2 hrs. The great thing is I am able to store almost any food in the way so this will aid my refrigeration being such prime real estate. When my Dad joins me for the Pacific leg home I think we will be investing in a small freezer just to top it all off, I know I will get no gripes from him if he were to be served fish 3 times a day.

It was about 2PM when I heard the cry from Fi ‘Whale’ and once again our trusty friend ‘Walleed’ the whale had returned.  I am now almost convinced it is the same whale following us just to torment Fiona. Fi thinks I am mad but I seriously think it is the same whale? It was another amazing spectacle as Walleed dived and rolled in the water shooting past the boat spinning like the tow generator. The picture attached is Walleed just popping his head up to make sure I have not got a harpoon waiting for him up at the bow.  As the swell rolls on in Walleed will swim in the peak of it keeping a close eye on the two of us and then once it has our attention he does his little show, banking and spinning. Fi’s comment for the day was “do you think they play around like that just before they attack you?” Classic….

Special comments by Fiona:  Very exciting to not only talk to another boat mid Atlantic but to know we’d been to the same places and were both familiar with each other’s boat.  Ben spoke to Andy on his boat “Callista” for over half an hour and agreed that we celebrate Christmas together.

Yes, once again we saw yet another whale.  This is the fourth sighting on our journey so far.  After my initial fear, I soon realized that this was a friendly whale who was obsessed with our streaming water generator.  Walleed, as Ben named him, was with us for well over an hour.  I soon relaxed and watched him intently as he weaved in front, under and behind us.  I even gave a scream of delight when his whole body leapt out of the water just meters from us.  My whale fear is officially over!

And yes, I am now on a fish strike.  I tried to explain to Ben that I’m feeling sick from fish/tuna for breakfast, lunch and dinner but he couldn’t understand and said that it’s perfectly ok to eat fish for every meal and that I shouldn’t be feeling sick because it’s good for me.  We agreed to disagree and as Ben fries up yet another tuna at 8am for breakfast, I tuck into my bowl of muesli…both of us happy!

Day 152

Traveling Direction – West

Wind Direction – North North East – Strong

Swell – Lumpy and pretty Big

Average Speed –  5.9

Top Speed – ?

Distance Covered – 142.4 Nautical Miles