Now close to the end of our journey.

On Friday we enjoyed steak and dauphinoise. On Saturday a chicken curry (Rogan Josh with much coconut).

 

We could stay out longer if we could pull out another tuna or mahi mahi from the ocean – this crew is not prepared to compromise and resort to anything but fresh food.

We see other  yachts all the time and it is clear from the daily net that the courses are converging as we all get closer to our destination.

The winds died again on Saturday and the iron mainsail has been overemployed.

A small bird ( a Martin?) hovered over Saturday and did not land on the deck – perhaps the overwhelming odour of the previous evening’s curry was a real put off.

 

Conor’s one eyed squid lure was nibbled away by some highly intelligent fish – an escapee from a Florida aqua show? The various strand of the plastic squid’s tentacles have been chewed off and the trace and hook left only with the squid’s body. It’s been three or four days now since we caught anything after the disastrous day of loosing 4 prized lures to cunning fish.

 

Marion has inspected the fridge remnants and condemned the last meat but we still have some vegetables left- courgettes, leaks and potatoes.

Sailing has been fitful and the seas are relatively calm. The sky has been overcast and the heat has abated. Several heavy downpours have drenched the unfortunate watchkeeper.

 

Conor saw a small killer whale jump out of the water on Friday and yesterday a sizable pod of dolphins came to play. They did not stay long but were nice to see them. They are a larger species than those that we get at home with a speckled look about them and don’t appear to be as playful!

 

Henry shaved off his beard yesterday but not before the photos were taken. To be posted in due course. Simon apparently is keeping his until he gets back to the UK. Conor clean shaven as always. 

 

There is now amusing exchanges on the daily net (SSB radio). In particular ‘Timewarp’ (American) is jousting with ‘Hazel Fry’ (Canadian) as to their relative positions and progress. There are daily contributions to the singing  competition and different nationalities have entered their own songs which we hope to hear with better clarity at the prize giving. The daily net as always a great source of information and amusement amongst the participating fleet.

 

We are all looking forward to arriving in St Lucia especially as the fickle weather is frustrating and time of arrival is now estimated to be early hours of Tuesday morning.