Humming along in the sou'westerlies
A year afloat: to the Caribbean and back
Sam and Alex Fortescue
Fri 22 Jul 2011 15:35
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39:24.18N
055:05.48W
The spinnaker at last had a chance to fly yesterday
in an agreeable 12 knot breeze across the starboard quarter. The waves were
lower, the sun was out and it was, in short, a cracking day for a sail. We raced
along at about 6.5 knots under the chute for most of the afternoon and only
struck the sail in time for a late supper, last night on a Mexican
theme.
During the night, the sea temperature plummeted
and the current turned against us, indicating a back eddy from colder
northern climes. It was a good night for sleeping, though. We're back in the
unquenchable blue depths of the Gulf Stream this morning, buzzing along at up to
eight knots. There's a constant southwesterly trade wind at our backs, and
Summer Song literally hums with pent up energy as she surges forward on each
wave.
We're closing in on the half way point of this leg
at 51 degrees west. We're planning to have a halfway party, although we're not
sure yet what form this should take. There has been loose talk of ball gowns and
high heels a la Cantare, but the girls said Chris and I would look silly, so
we're still mulling sartorial options.
There's been no sight of other ships for nearly
three days now, and we feel quite alone. It's strange to have the company of
Radio 4's I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue on the ipod at night - strangest of all
when the programme ends and I realise we're still 800 miles from anywhere in the
north Atlantic. Maybe we should try producing our own nautically themed version
of the show.
As I type, Chris is frantically winding in the
fishing line. Thew lure is skimming along the surface and has attracted the
attention of hundreds of shearwaters, which have appeared from nowhere as if it
were a scene from Hitchcock's The Birds. They are squawking an wheeling over the
lure while they take turns to have a go at it. We thought the birds might
presage fish, but have had to retire from the hunt before we catch some
feathered prey.
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