On day 4 of calms seas and motoring, the crew aboard the American sailing yacht “Tenacity” decided it was time to take a dip in the ocean.  After carefully installing the ship’s portable ladder  (there was a horror movie about a crew who all jumped off a yacht  with no way to get back on board) Tenacity’s crew dove into the brilliant blue, glassy calm, salty and chilly water! “It’s as warm as the air!” said crew Al, first in. “Bull S*%^t” said Cindy Fletcher Holden, second in. 

Crew Philip decided to pass on account of he just had a nice shower. “I’ll take photos” he said.

“I’ve never seen the boat at this perspective” said Fletcher Holden, “Not so much the angle but the boat’s rocking is amazing from down here. It’s funny how you don’t feel it as much on board”

The portable ladder was a bit of a challenge but it did the job.

It’s no surprise that captain Robert was able to climb up and down the portably ladder like a monkey.

After the delightful swim, the crew proceeded to crank up old classic rock, and Eurasian Lounge tunes on the CD player while enjoying some of the end of the Summer sun.

But they hope  some wind will fill in soon.  “it’s weird to see the Ocean this flat for so many days” said Philip.

Tenacity is headed for Lisbon and should be there in a couple of days.

 

 

Cindy Fletcher Holden, Artist and self confessed shoe addict, has begun designs on a new line of painted leather clogs.  Having done a few before, she says this time, the designs  will be more monochromatic and less flamboyant. More able to go with anything, but still a little “out there”. The concept is partly inspired by a pair of inexpensive yoga pants she purchased before she embarked on a European cruise. The rest of the inspiration came from looking at fashions in store windows while in the Azores, Portuguese Islands about 900 miles West from mainland Europe. “The coolest thing is I can now spell Portuguese without spell check!!!”

Fletcher Holden will start her new line of shoes with her own Jeffery Campbell high heeled platform clogs.  “This style clog is very in here in Europe, I had no idea!  Hopefully my paint jobs will attract new customers.”

She will posting photos when they are done on Facebook.

 

 

 

On Day 4 of motoring, the crew of Tenacity were delighted to spot 2 rather large and loud whales, right before a very beautiful sunset that included a rather small (blink and miss it) green flash.  This was a very welcome sight!  The whales did sort of a slow ride up and dive down, making big low grunting sounds. Very whale like.  At first the crew thought they were dolphins, but soon saw how huge these creatures were and realized they were whales!!!!

They did spot a few turtles, (one baby), but also several sightings of some sort of plastic trash. “This is what makes us weary, not sailing,” says Cindy Fletcher Holden, First Mate, cook, shoe designer and champion speller, “It’s rather sad how much plastic sh*#t is out here. We’ve seen laundry baskets, parts of buckets, old buoy type things, stuff like that.”

The crew of Tenacity keeps all their plastic trash in a separate bag to recycle once they reach port. It’s a job and a pain but well worth when you consider how long plastic lasts in the Ocean Environment.