24th November 2010: A negotiated agreement between Sextant and GPS

Enigma's Transatlantic Voyage
Manuel Ribeiro
Wed 24 Nov 2010 12:35

Greetings,

 

While the blog entry before had much more to do with the extracurricular happenings on board Enigma, the following day started off with great sailing.

 

With 15-20 knots of wind coming directly from behind us and a beautifully clear, sunny day, the conditions were ideal for our Lagoon 420. For most of the morning, we were averaging 8 knots SOG (speed over ground) until the winds gradually slowed down. Though Boyan and Manel took advantage of this by perching themselves on the nets afore, the waves intermittently splashing their feet as the sun shined brightly, others were put into sailing mode.

 

Penaforte and Ze were at it with the sextant in order to manually check our position. After heavy negotiations, they found that their calculations had a margin of error of less than 1 nautical mile compared to the GPS. So if our electricity were to go down, we now know that we have a trustworthy alternate source for determining our position.

 

When the wind died down slightly, Manuel Sr. decided to cap off a great morning’s sail by preparing his specialty – mushroom risotto. He treated us once with this dish in Las Palmas, and we couldn’t wait to have it again. After eating the delicious salad that Manel Jr. prepared – the last pack of lettuce we’ll enjoy for 3 weeks – a large pot bursting with an aroma of mushrooms was swiftly placed in front of us. Though I’m not sure the skipper wants to reveal exactly how he makes such a great dish, we will let you in on one hint – using a good white wine in a risotto makes a big difference. Give it a shot!

 

On another note about food, the Mahi Mahi that Pena was able to catch is still awaiting its place on the menu – as we had no success in catching another fish. On the contrary, we actually lost more than we gained by losing tackle in the big blue. If we don’t manage to catch anything in the next couple of days – we kindly request Manu to drop what he is doing and find his way to Cape Verde. We may need our fisherman back – so maybe arrange a pick up?

 

By midday we had sailed about 270 miles since our departure. We look to continue heading south towards Cape Verde for a couple more days (get here quick Manu!) and then begin heading west across the Atlantic.

 

Keep up to date with our blog tomorrow -- as there may be some things that have not yet been revealed on what is going on with the Enigma Crew (hint: Movember).

 

Until tomorrow,

 

The Enigma Crew.

 

 

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