Fw: 25:12.90N 18:29.20W
Gaudeo
John and Prue Quayle / John Quayle
Mon 19 Nov 2007 07:47
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Famous last words: after
boasting about spanking reaches and the like yesterday, we soon became headed
and becalmed so our old friend, "iron sail", was again put to work. Before
then however, we had covered 139 miles over the first 24 hours.
Pleasantly warm conditions and the smooth sea
allowed everyone to laze about reading, sleeping, fixing things, washing clothes
etc. such is stress of on board life. This year`s installation of an efficient
water maker means that water which was previously a precious resource may now be
used more liberally with the result that Gaudeo has never had such a
well turned out crew.
Weather forecasts obtained via satellite phone
suggest that it will be another 2-3 days before the wind turns in our favour,
thus with such extensive use of the engine, thoughts turn towards a possible
refuelling stop in the Cape Verde Islands -
rather a nice prospect.
Happy hour last night produced a number of
confessions: JS mistook a cloud bank for the Great Orme; JL who has a reputation
in matters oenological had asked for " vino rosso" instead of "vino tinto" in a
Tenerife restaurant, a detail which may bewilder you dear blog reader, as
it did his shipmates; masterchef, JS, apologised for what the
crew considered to be a faultless and superb creation-
special chicken burgers with two varieties of mojo sauce (red and
green pepper based ), haricot beans and Canary potatoes (papas) which
according to gourmet standard were prepared in boiling sea water.
Previous accounts referred to night watch attire
which may have perplexed some as to sanity on board Gaudeo - remember the
khaki shorts worn over stylishly tailored olive green thermal trousers,
modelled by RB and clashing with his dark purple
"Crock" footwear. Following registration at fashion patents offices,
it may now be revealed that far from being an aberration of latter day Donald
Crowhurst behaviour, this is a thoroughly functional outfit. Amongst the many
essential items he carries in the bulging pockets of the khakii shorts are:
a torch; a Leatherman multitool; camera; personal EPIRB; hand held GPS; list of
emergency telephone numbers - I am not at liberty to divulge
other details.
Given that there is little need for on deck games
at present, some members of the crew have enrolled on a
foundation course in astronavigation offered by JL. In the first
lesson they learnt that Jupiter is a planet and that Venus is the early morning
star - such stellar progress guarantees proficiency after a
circumnavigation, but what does one expect from a course which is free
and when the students are only a day behind their tutor`s self
learning. |