12:24N 51:06W

daily run – 150 mls; miles to go to Barbados 495

 

We just had to throw this one in.  Such a classic movie starring, if our rusty memories serve us right, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight.  Feel free to correct us if we’re wrong and thanks to all those who confirmed it was Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail.   You win a week’s ocean passage on Bandit – rolling standard, sleep optional!

 

Given that we are night watching our way across the Atlantic, Midnight Cowboy seems totally appropriate.  So a little about our watch system.  (And please if we’ve already told you blame it on Groundhog Day!)  As I write this I am the Midnight Cowboy doing the midnight until 4am watch.  We start our watches at 8pm and David takes first watch through to midnight.  After 4am we switch to two hour watches which takes us through until 8am – our morning radio net.  We’ve tried various options and have discussed it endlessly with other sailors.  Get a bunch of ocean cruisers together and after power systems, cruising destinations, sail configurations and weather planning the conversation often turns to watch systems.  Everyone has a different system and what is important is getting one that works for you especially if shorthanded.

 

During overnight hops in the Mediterranean we did a two hour on/two hour off system which worked fine.  But for a long passage we needed more sleep so began with three hours on/three off.  In reality, the off watch person only gets about two and a half hours of sleep.  Fellow cruisers told us their five hour on/off system worked perfectly for them but it sounded a tad long for us so we took the middle ground and went for four.  So far it seems to be working fine.  During the day we have a very loose system with whoever is in the cockpit keeping an eye out.  I tend to go back for a nap from 10-11 while David has his from 2-3.

 

That brings us to the topic of having a 3rd (or 4th) person onboard to enable us to get more sleep which both our mothers wanted!  We discussed this at length, and did have a friend keen to come, but when that didn’t work we were happy to go it alone.  In Gibraltar and the Canary Islands we were plagued by hitchhikers wandering the docks wanting a ride.  As we were late in the season many of the bedraggled lot were clearly the dregs, with a few exceptions, and we definitely didn’t want a complete stranger on board.  For us one of the biggest things to consider is loss of privacy and personal space.  At sea a boat is a very small place – no matter how big it is.  There’s also the food – an extra mouth means more provisioning.  We can sail the boat on our own and do things automatically now , often without having to communicate.  Having said all that....we already have a few good friends who have their names down for various legs.  Don’t be scared to ask and likewise, don’t be offended if we say no - it’s nothing personal.  Sometimes it’s just so much easier and more fun to have friends on board when we are in a nice anchorage, when you can get off the boat and go ashore, swim, snorkel and provision nearby.

 

New Year’s Eve came and went without great drama on Bandit but the cook did manage to whip up a lemoncilla tiramisu from the galley – full points.  We shared a glass of sav with supper and gave the rest to Neptune who has looked after us well so far.  A yacht on our net to the north of us, Matador, issued an open invitation for drinks and sashimi but, wouldn’t you know it, the pre arranged helicopter transfers didn’t turn up.  Discussing the party on the net gave us all a bit of a laugh which many of those behind us needed.  Fellow cruisers who left Cape Verdes a few days behind us are stuck in a nasty weather system and really getting hammered.   As we listened to the net this morning one, a single hander, took a huge wave.  He’d been running under bare poles all night in 30knots with seas 6-7m.  It’s a reality check and a reminder that the Atlantic doesn’t always play by the rules.  We’re all hoping they sail through it today and get the classic trade winds and clear blue skies we have.