Xmas Eve

Snap
Thu 24 Dec 2015 07:33
17:21N 48:03W west at 7-8 knots overnight with 783 to the waypoint looking
like daylight Monday - but heavily depends on weekend weather of course .
First weekend was flat calm, second weekend Force 5-6 ....

Yuletide message from the globe-dawdling Stingo, my good friend John with
whom I did a westbound transat 8 years ago and who then went back to get
his own boat from Seth Efrica (catamaran called Stingo) and is now ripping
around the globe at the rate of one ocean every eight+ years...it takes
three to circumnavigate atlantic pacific and indian ... and he is currently
holed up in Bocas del Toro (he sez it shd be called Bocas del Torrential)
far west side of Atlantic near Panama that skinny bit of Central America
still on the carib side actually just 100m west of the Panama canal. And in
between on my chart here it says "Golfo delos Mosquitos" ooh it all sounds
lovely! John says they have two seasons, the wet season and the very wet
season.

Lots of places around there (including in Panama itself) are full of people
in yots thinking about going thru the P'canal but umm not quite just yet.
But Stingo is def going thru in April OR if not then the following April.
Before then he wants to go to the San Blas islands where the local Kanu
indians don't like you taking photos cos they believe it steals a part of
their soul. But it's ok taking a photo and stealing part of their soul if
you give them $5.

Meanwhile here on Snap in the mid-atlantic the miles are coming down and
it's 782 to the Barbuda waypoint which shoudl be four and a half days at
this 7-8 knots speed. I went northwards a bit at fab speed to 10knots
yesterday but the VMG (the Velocity Masquerading as Gorgonzola) wasn't very
good, so stopped that, pointed at the wpt and poled out genoa with staysail
gives 7-8 knots or more. Still bit lurchy in 3m seas but coming down
gradually.

Sarah says it'l be okay eating old oranges. That makes sense of course cos
what's marmalade after all? Old oranges plus sugar and small slices of lino.

Mindie's Christmas continues as complex as ever cos she has parents and even
grandparents dotted all over the place hence trundling up and down
motorways celebrating Xmas several times over. I bet she's probably an
expert at Christmas by now, and easily able to do that wow gosh thanks!
gratitude thing regardless of what old junk she gets lumbered with even if
it's an old car tyre or bits of leftover cake. Ooh that is so KIND and
JUST what i wanted and we're due in Bournemouth soon is the car started
Mike?

Back in the Bah Humbug department, Marly is still dead and Kate is planning
on buying some fruit to munch over Xmas lunch whilst her Mum is going to
go round the bend doing sprouts and all that makarky. Actually her Mum is
planning on bringing round some friends one of who is called "Robin" which
is extremely Christmassy isn't it? The other one is from Japan i think,
so sadly probly NOT called Tiny Tim nor Fezziwig although either of those
would score 6.0 on my scorecard.

Bx reports that the UK is very unlikely to have a white Christmas and Snap
even less likely. So - what's the opposite of White Christmas ? Hm? Any
guesses? You would know this is you bought the best-selling single of all
time which of course I did sometime yonks ago .... the opposite of White
Christmas is the B side of the same record of course ... which is "Hai
Kalikimake" (or summink like that second word about right anyway) also sung
by Bing, and means Merry Xmas in Hawaian. Cool toon in its silly 50's way.
I bet you could google and find it ....