Today: confused?; lets talk turkey; fish stories; there is life out there after all; wow, what a day!

 

After the challenges of the previous evening caused by our fellow yachties, we were not entirely unhappy that there were no other boats as far as the eye (well, radar and AIS) could see. However, Poseidon, who is known for his sense of humour sent us seas that were more confused than a dog with three fire hydrants to chose from. Bill and then Jane, whose watch followed, tried a wide range of courses to achieve a comfortable ride for those who were sleeping at the time- to no avail. It wasn’t until the morning sun that the seas calmed, but, by then all were awake.

 

We would like to wish all of our American Friends Happy Thanksgiving. In fact, we are so enthusiastic over Thanksgiving, that we decided to celebrate it here on the good (food) ship Libeccio. Bill, our token American on board was charged with the responsibility of delivering an authentic Thanksgiving dinner- despite the logistical challenges. He has surpassed our expectations, with a little help from our in-house chef, Jane. Tonight’s menu includes Turkey breasts and stuffing, potatoes, turkey gravy, sweet potatoes/yams- candied no less; carrots; sweet corn; cranberries; waldorf salad (must be a NY thing). For dessert, Jane has whipped up pumpkin pie tarts with home made pastry. Oh, how we suffer when under sail. Largely from eating too much, so we did our nightly reefing of the main  and  genoa prior to dinner as we were not sure we could move after.

 

As you may know, the final float in the NY thanksgiving parade is Santa and his reindeer, marking the official opening of the Christmas retail season. While we may not be able to do much shopping here, we have hidden a few Christmas carols on board...

 

You find fishing nets in the most “interesting” spots and today, Mike the eagle eye spotted two different sets of buoys which appeared to be attached to some fishing nets. There were no lights or other means for boats to see these nets. Given that we were several hundred miles off the nearest bit of land, it is very unlikely these were being actively tended. We certainly hope that we don’t get caught up in one of these.

 

 

After waxing on yesterday about the possible fate of our fellow ARC participants that we could not longer see, we have been rewarded today by sailing in the “company” of two other boats for most of the day. In fact, we hope to avoid a close encounter with one of the boats as it looks like our courses cross over in about an hour. However, it was a non-ARC boat that surprised us with a call over the VHF this afternoon- it was somewhat surreal to hear our boat name being called out over channel 16. They wanted to chat, but, most importantly were after the most recent weather forecast that we had.  Happy to share, we provided them with the ARC information and wished them well on their way to Antigua. 

 

UPDATE, we just received a call over the VHF from our neighbouring ARC boat who wanted to let us know that they would be shifting course to more southerly and that they would pass to our stern. In stark contrast to the approach taken last night by another ARC participant as we mentioned in last night’s blog.

 

Above all else, today has been our best day of sailing so far this trip. >From the moment that we shook out our evening caution reef this morning to the time we put the reefs back in tonight, we have enjoyed consistent winds both in strength and direction. With a full main and genoa, we have cruised along comfortably 6.5 – 8.5 knots all day and most of it in the sun. What a day!

 

We hope you are all well,

 

Regards,

 

The crew of  Libeccio