Another Over 60s outing - Tenerife to the Caribbean
Gaudeo
John and Prue Quayle / John Quayle
Sat 10 Nov 2007 09:54
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Our little adventure across the pond is about to
begin. Crew (see photo 10 April) include John Smith ( Prue`s brother ), Richard
Burbidge and Jonathan Lane. JS, JL and I fly to Tenerife on Monday 12 November
to victual and do a few last minute jobs on Gaudeo, and RB arrives Thursday
16th. Provided there is a reasonable weather window, we set sail soon after for
Grenada 3000M due West.
In order to make the best use of prevailing wind
and current, we shall probably begin on a SW course to around 25 degrees N and
25 degrees W, about 150-200M NW of Cape Verde Islands, and only
turn west when the westerly trades have been definitely encountered, say
200M south of their northern limit. The sky at this point should be speckled
with small clouds "like puffs of steam from an old fashioned steam
engine". Average wind speeds of 15 knots are expected though this time last year
the wind was much stronger and quick passages were made. Our passage is
expected to last around 3 weeks but we shall victual for 30
days.
For their deserved reputations in the
gastronomy department, JL and JS have taken on responsibility for victualling.
Indeed the only input allowed JQ and RB at a recent Food Committee meeting
was on the selection of afternoon and morning tea. Quantities such as 30 kilos
of meat equivalents, 30 loaves, 40 litres of "beverage" have been mentioned.
Pruning is already occurring to the skipper`s wine rations to make
room for apparently healthier sustenance. Be forewarned therefore,
that future blogs could refer to sightings
of pink mice climbing the mast.
Much correspondence has been focused
on rescue coordination across the North Atlantic. Wives and
family may be reassured to know that in addition to messages sent
in discarded wine bottles - another reason for not rationing the
skipper too severely - and limited VHF radio communication, we do
have the use of 2 Iridium satellite phones which also enable
data transfer, albeit very slowly. It would be nice to catch up on
gossip so emails from friends would be welcome; please no
attachments. I am spelling the email address for the yacht in a
fashion designed to deceive potential spammers: johnquayle at mailasail dot
com.
A suitable refrain for the "over 60s outing" on Gaudeo?
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