Bernie’s Blog - Day 10 –  Monday 30 May

Yesterday was a choppy loppy day and at least two of us were slightly off our food. However, Rod, Colin and Peter S (P2) were like hungry gannets – as usual. We have plenty of snack-type foods when we feel like this but the trio managed a chilli con carne for supper. The fresh apples and oranges are holding out well and one or other always follows our main meals. We have some green bananas onboard but have yet to ripen in spite of being kept in with the apple basket for the past 10 days.

A particular pleasure for Skipper, Rod and me is porridge especially  now that the temperature are slowly dropping – sea temp 29; cabin 28 !!

We had a problem, identified by Colin, with the flux compasses – both the yacht’s main compass and Skipper’s wristwatch compass failed and ended up about 80 degrees off. Was this our ET moment? Is it because we are close to the Bermuda Triangle? All very spooky. Not helped by Rod playing signature tune to the X-Files in the dark of night the!  We swung the compass during the night and we have it now roughly correct – good enough for an ocean passage at least. We’ll swing it accurately when we arrive off Horta.

A highlight of the past 24 hours was contact with our first yacht in 9 days since leaving St Maarten At 0200 French yacht ALTIAIR called us and this morning we have sighted her on the horizon. She is also en route Azores. We will be talking to her again during the day to exchange opinion on the weather ahead. It is good to have some company.

Our 4^th flying fish came aboard over night. These are not large enough to eat unless we had lots; so we still have a line over the stern in the hope that we catch something. Onboard we have tinned tuna and sardines if we need them.

This morning we refuelled with 120 litres from the fuel cans we had secreted onboard and we are now topped up again with about 1200 miles to go. We are expecting a better sailing easterly wind to the north of our current position at 28° north and 49° west but it is good to know that we have full fuel should we need it. Unprepared yachts can be left drifting for weeks within the Azores High. Thanks to our Skipper we are prepared.

Our clocks have now gone forward to GMT-2, which is 3 hours behind UK and 5 hours ahead of Vancouver. There will be one more clock change to match Azorean time in about a week’s time.