ARC - Day 7

Rainmaker
Donald Macdonald
Sun 29 Nov 2020 14:51
Position 24.08N  34.53W
 
Completed over 7 days racing and somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean having completed 1159 nm or 1261 nm through the water.
 
During the night whilst John was helming he got hit in the leg, which as you can imagine made him jump until realised it was a flying fish. He managed to catch it jumping around in the cockpit and throw back in to the sea.
It was another night of squalls around affecting the prevailing winds so was a 2nd night of reduced mileage. By this morning things had settled down less wind and smaller seas so Harold has been working since. You would now think we were going to get a rest and rejuvenate. Oh No! WE could fly a spinnaker so the pink one was duly presented on deck and hoisted. It was now time for my sleep about 10 am and John was left in the sunshine of the cockpit foot area on a bean bag relaxing. He was still like that when I got up an hour later the wind had been steady in strength and direction. Now my turn to relax. Only a few minutes after he went to sleep the wind started veering so headed up 10 degrees above course then veered some more so centered the main so could sail a little by the lee without loss of speed. When he got up we gybed. The squall causing this we could see and unable to ascertain with certainty that it was heading our way. Wind direction kept changing and getting small increases in strength, thinking we were going to be hit with unwanted gusts, pink spinnaker only good max of 15 knots true, we dropped it. Very soon after that wind back to expected levels, pink spinnaker back up, John on bean bag, Harold steering and I'm off for some sleep some 4 hours later than was expected.
 
The numbers game last night was the 1600's so we knew lots but not when, Elizabethan times, Sir Raleigh and his tobacco and Potatoes, Plague, Great Fire, Kronnenberg beer.
 
Since being out the dolphins have only visited us twice dawn on the 2nd day the 2 nights ago in the middle of it and could only make out the extra splashes and dark shapes when jumping.
 
Dinner this evening Sausages and baked beans, cheddar cheese, baguette then pear halves in juice.