Stromboli Update 14/6
Stromboli comes home
John and Sue Chadwick
Thu 14 Jun 2007 22:54
There's a now-familiar jolt somewhere on the port bow - Stromboli just catching a wave badly - this announces the arrival, about two seconds later, of an unwelcome quart of ocean over the sprayhood and into cockpit. At the jolt, in the manner I suppose of trench soldiers under artillery fire, all talk ceases, bodies tense, faces cringe and we all do turtle impressions. Then it's a question of finding out if it's going to get you or the other fella.
I was thoroughly amused yesterday afternoon when everyone ducked, paused, further pause, no result. 'Whew, that's lucky', I said to R and the Mate, 'but I'm going to put my hood on just in case there's another'. I flipped the hood of my sailing jacket over my head to found it had just collected about two pints of neat, cold, seawater. Like I say, most amusing.
Anyway after all that we're getting on alright (so far) , heading down a direct line to Rame Head (the headland just to the W of Plymouth). In terms of latitude we're abeam the N coast of Spain so it could be said that we're now crossing Biscay (although we're about 400 miles to the W of the bay itself). We're crossed the halfway point today. Celebrated with a Toblerone. Probably cross 500-to-go late tomorrow. Then we have 1000 miles done - not sure when yet - crossing the continental shelf and land ho! Somewhere along the way we'll cross tracks with our outbound route from Weir Quay to Gibraltar in June 2005.
More in a couple of days. Love the crew.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com