What A Difference A Day Makes
Balvenie
Mark Farrell & Amanda Church
Fri 6 Jan 2012 16:49
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Current Position 4.15pm GMT 12:56N 51:03W, hardly a cloud
to be seen, around 15 knots east south easterly, still rolly but what an
improvement.
1st Officer Tony reports - At last the Big A is
doing as expected = the NE trade wind is blowing 10-15knots: the sea is a deep
azure; the sky eggshell; the clouds fluffy white; the sun scorching down; but
the fish are not biting today...always a serpent in Eden? We're rolling along at
6knots; just enjoyed a cappuncino on the poop deck; nearly time for lunch
(our snactition says it's corn fritters today ...it's a hard life on the ocean).
Day 12 and only 500 miles to the Mt.Gay rum factory in Bridgetown, Barbados; all
is well.
Admiral here - well what can I add!!! After a full
day of squalls yesterday we had a magical moonlit night with gentle winds
and almost comfortable seas. Onboard moral is at a peak, there was
considerable room for improvement. What short memories ocean sailors have !!.
The "Crew" are all happy. Henry the Helicopter (Wind
Generator) is having the day off today as the winds are lighter, he has done a
sterling job so far even though he is so so noisy (an "almost silent" Airbreeze
- yeah right!!). The Twins (solar panels) are soaking up the sun and
topping up the batteries, long may that continue. Ray and Arnie the
two autopilots have been doing the steering shifts between them, so get to have
a decent rest, just like the three of just real crew on board. Jenny the
Generator had a run this morning and we enjoyed our first espressos in 12
days, maybe that is what has perked me up so much! Olive the Volvo has to
work an hour each day to run the freezer, now that it is warming up so much she
might just have to start putting in a little overtime. Thumper the noisy
watermaker comes on when we tire of the peace and quiet out here.
... and finally from the skipper...
On a more serious note. There is no doubt that the
first week of this voyage was tough with big seas and strong winds but it
was absolutely no more than we expected to encounter at some point on this
voyage. The crew and Balvenie were well prepared. Balvenie
proved once again that she is a true ocean thoroughbred...designed and built for
such conditions. So we have 500 miles to go...still alot of work to be done but
for now we can relax and enjoy the kinder
conditions.
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