12:38N 35:21W

 

Not quite sure who is rocking our boat (cradle)...but all will be forgiven if you stop, or at least cut out the boisterous stuff!  For those new to our blog, we decided to break on board boredom (in reality there’s little time to get bored) and try and inspire some cerebral activity mid ocean.  So instead of day 1, day 2 etc, we head each day’s blog with an appropriate movie title.  It’s been challenging!  Without the benefit of google (we don’t have internet at sea...just email), we’ve had to rely on memories which aren’t always that accurate or reliable.  Finding an appropriate title can take much debate and some time.  Take today’s.  For a while it was going to be Smash Palace – that classic Kiwi movie of the 70s with iconic actor Bruno Lawrence (we think!).  This came about after a smashing time was had by the cook in the galley during supper preparation last night.  A steep wave hit Bandit with a huge crash, sending the soup bowls into orbit.  They flew across the saloon crashing on the floor...in pieces. Yes you’re right  -we should use plastic but who likes eating or drinking out of plastic, especially Christmas supper?   Luckily the hot soup stayed in the pot as it was secured on the gimballed stove but a few other things went flying as well – salt and pepper, hot rolls, the soup ladle, spoons and the chopped parsley garnish (try cleaning up that on hands and knees in a lurching boat!).  Such is the velocity of the odd rogue wave.  Incidentally, Christmas pudding was wiped off the menu because the microwave was unusable in the seas.  Tomorrow!

 

Christmas Day started out okay but deteriorated as the day progressed.  Luckily we got our roast lamb and vegetable meal out of the way because by mid afternoon we had 30 knots of wind with 3m swells and persistent rain.  Nothing to do but settle in and watch a movie – Invictus in this case (with one eye on radar of course).  We were thrilled about the rain – it washed away all that African dirt Bandit had been collecting since Morocco – but not too happy about the squally conditions.  We reduced sail to just the small staysail and Bandit still romped along at about 6 knots but it made for an uncomfortable ride as she dealt with the big lumpy seas.  By dusk, we were getting the odd wave that was really violent...like the above.....but by 9pm the wind began to ease and our boatspeed dropped...so action time.  Up on deck and unfurled the genoa to port and Bandit accelerated away again.  By now the waves had settled down to about 2metres (it never ceases to amaze us how quickly the seas can drop or get up) and...you guessed it....Bandit began to roll.  It was unrelenting.....not a nice gentle roll that puts the off watch person to sleep – but a persistent severe jerk that makes doing anything impossible.  Given the discomfort and displeasure it is causing us, The Hand That Rocked the Cradle seemed more appropriate.  I might add that when the title came up the cook added a few extra words before hand and cradle but given this is a family show, we shall leave them out. 

 

Now on Boxing Day morning we have the “barn doors” open - both headsails poled out and with the 15 – 18 knot winds from ESE (astern) we’re carving a furrow in the sea at 7 knots and just had a surf down one wave at 12 knots so we are making good progress.  The roll is a bit easier (ie less swearing from the galley) with swells down to 1.5 – 2 m. The wind is expected to go the ENE or NE later which will help our course to Barbados.   Only 1415 miles to go!

 

Our morning and afternoon radio SSB schedules will get busier from today with three yachts leaving the Cape Verdes – fair winds and safe sailing to Ventana, Balvenie and Tactical Directions.  Will be great to have them on the net again as a few others, including Kiwi boat Tuatara, have dropped off having arrived in Barbados.  We’re in spitting distance (well 100 miles is spitting distance in the Atlantic) of Moonshadow and Matador and the race is on.  First in buys the rum – go Bandit!