Fw: Storyteller, Day2, Lawyer nil, Fish 2
Storyteller
Thu 24 Jan 2008 17:13
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13.26N 64.08W
The fleet of 34 boats left St Lucia in 20
knot winds for the leg to Cristobal, Panama at 12.10 local time. Most of the
yachts are doing a full circumnavigation, which will take them 15 months--makes
our voyage seem tame by comparison. There was a ten minute delay as the
marina entrance was blocked by a grounding. Tony and Mike's time in St Lucia,
heaps of fun and interesting to see the people -- many so friendly and others
more on the sullen side.
The two days before
departure were taken up with briefings for the forthcoming passage--
navigation advice and communication information. Tony was busy updating the fish
catching equipment making Storyteller probably the best equipped fishing boat in
the fleet. All this was interspersed with steel bands, more than a
touch of the local rum and swims in the 29 degree Caribbean waters. Tony and
Mike obligingly accompanied the "ladies" from Southern Princess and Ideal on a
trip to the big smoke to stock up on fruit and veg and baskets for
storage, as well as small items for trading in the remote Pacific
islands, where money has no value as there is nothing to buy. We had a great
time stocking up on soaps, hair bands, stationery, and even some cute little
jewel studded ladies knickers--Mike's still not sure how he was talked into
making the selection.
Our friends on the catamaran "Ideal"
lost their steering soon after crossing the start line but were
fortunately able to make running repairs. We had a much less eventful start
than in the Canaries, thank goodness, and have been heading a little south
of west with the wind behind us at 18 - 22 knots. The headsail is poled out and
we are making 7.5 to 8.5 knots over the ground.
Within an hour of cossing the start line,the
ardent fishers had two lines over the side. Tony soon landed a
barracouda, which we threw back in the expectation of better things.Not long
after he hooked into something huge which stripped out 3-400 metres in no
time. After struggling manfully for 20 minutes
and getting nowhere he was mightily relieved when the fish
got rid of the lure.
We stood night watches in perfect conditions
under a full moon, with everyone getting a few hours sleep, but the
saying "and the dawn comes up like thunder" proved to be all too
true when, without any warning, the autopilot flicked onto
standby, and we jibed. Fortunately no damage was done and John was most
reassuring saying, "we had to jibe anyway".
We have covered about 150 miles in 20 hours since
departure. Everyone is in excellent spirits and having a very
good time. All we need to make things absolutely perfect is to pull in a decent
tuna or mahimahi. However Sue has taken a meal out of the freezer, just in
case! Our forecaster, Bruce, in Perth tells us that the weather
conditions are likely to be much the same for the next 5 days, with good trade
winds. We intend to report each day, sea state
permitting.
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