23 November 2nd day at sea

Slipstream Web Diary
Bill Cuthbert
Mon 23 Nov 2009 19:31

So although there had not been much wind at the beginning, the wind blew up through the night so we ended up with 2 reefs & a partly furled foresail.  The sea was fairly rough with a large but confused swell which broke unpredictably over the boat and crew. Anyway, the morning came (as it always does) and  things were better when the sun came up. The wind reduced slightly and the sea became more organised.

After lunch we tried to put the twitstle rig up (which booms a foresail out either side of the boat) but failed because the wind was a little strong and the sea was a little big, but have run in that way with a foresail either side of the boat pretty much staying there happily on their own.

As the crew rested after their exertions, we were visited by a large number of dolphins who played around the boat for an hour or two.

The crew take it turns to make supper: today it was Richard who produced a spicy pork dish of exceptional fineness & subtlety confessing amidst the praise that it was not all his on work. Mike offered special praise: the ginger content cured his sea-sickness. Richard & Nick had the advantage that they had bought the food: the others will have potluck.

One of the things the crew has enjoyed and now lament that they have departed the Canarian waters is the eccentric communications of the Spanish VHF, the  whoops and whistles, and remarks such as “I am following you”, “I can smell you”…

We’ve seen a couple of big ships through the day but since last night have seen no other yachts in the ARC. Maybe through the night we’ll see some navigation lights but the fleet is well dispersed.

Buenos noches