FINNROSE 14.15 036:37:77N 060:33:95W MON 01/07/13
Finnrose
Mon 1 Jul 2013 18:28
In the early evening it was decided to drop the spinnaker - only to have the snuffer fail due to twisted ropes at the top. This necessitated a really tedious couple of hours for Mark and Ken W to try and sort it out before stowing away in the sail locker, with Ken M's help from the aft of the boat. Ken M then cooked his speciality bacon and tomatoes with rice for supper; the tasty first course culminated in a further mood-lifting triple pudding of ice-cream, two types of yoghurt and yet again squares of delicious dark orange chocolate. Whilst consuming this, the conversation ran along the lines of 'we really mustn't give into this temptation, we are seriously going to run out of pudding long before we get to landfall'.... so along with water, puddings are now strictly rationed to one item per person (although nothing was said about portion sizes, it has to be said). To further boost morale on these long passage days, Ken W suggested a French themed day tomorrow, so the crew retired with thoughts of how best to embrace the spirit of the entente cordiale.
The wind dropped as night progressed, so the engine was switched on at 1 a.m. and we made a steady 5.5 knots through the night. The crew greeted each other with a 'bonjour, comment ca vas' this morning, but no berets, or even more relevant, croissants were in evidence, although we do have the strings of onions for scenic effect. Mark puzzled for a while after breakfast, et 'voila'! the French plaiting of a rope to be used to connect the boom to the main sheet was completed. The scraping of a large shackle on the stainless steel frame of the spray hood, which had been driving the night watch slowly mad, is no more. 304 nautical miles down, 1398 to go. Vive la France!