Dear Readers

 

The crew continue to conduct themselves admirablyand after two weeks in not a cross word has been said. 680 odd miles to go. It seems like only a couple of days to go that we were passing half way. We are roaring along in easterlies with a variety of sail configurations. Just today we have had full mainsail, one reef, two reefs, one reef, full main and back to one reef. The genoa has been goose-winged as well. All this can be achieved without going near the pointy end which is just as well in the current sea conditions with a crew of infirm old men, all except Alasdair (the Boy) of course.

Someone must have upset the sea gods yesterday because it has been quite lumpy today. Little sleep was had overnight by any of the crew but some are more than making up for it by barely surfacing during the day, no names no pack drill but Charlie you know who you are. He manages to sleep before , during and after lunch and that is after his near court marshall yesterday for arriving late on watch after over sleeping. He is at it again just now – at least the boat is quiet.

Our main meal of the day is lunch. Today was pork fillets in paprika skilfully prepared by Alasdair who apologised for it being slightly low on salt. The rest of us were amazed he managed to get it from the cooker into the dog bowls (our plate substitutes) at all without depositing it all over the inside of the cabin. Lunch for some is accompanied by the cheeky little red wine that lives in a silver bag in the forward heads and which has to be approached with the utmost care as it is constantly on the move. From there it is decanted into a decanter (a discarded plastic water bottle) where it rolls around the deck before being quaffed, all of which does nothing for the taste of said grape juice. Suffice it to say most of the contents of the silver bag are unlikely to be drunk.

Touch wood no major problems with the boat though she is very noisy down below as wooden bulkheads rub together as the hull flexes causing lots of squeaking. As you might imagine in the hot and damp conditions (it doesn’t bear thinking about) the bedding and human content of the boat could probably do with a wash but we do what we can. Actually the Owner has said on more than one occasion how tidy everyone is being, even Bob who is only allowed one square foot of space for his gear. We have all packed far too much gear as all that is needed during the day is a T shirt and shorts and at night a sweatshirt.

My turn on watch so must end.

Regards

The Owner