Last night we picked up a steady SW'ly and have been running south hard on the wind waiting for it to veer us towards the Canaries. Despite being close hauled, we're going well as the sea is flatter than back home on the River Orwell. There is almost no swell at all now. However, the wind is not strong enough for us to achieve hull speed so the smaller boats will be increasing their lead. We hope to catch Cipango once conditions strengthen and we can use our greater waterline to more effect.
Ollie sewed a permanent patch into the spinnaker tear yesterday and we're waiting for an opportunity to down power the main so we can sew on the new sliders before we run downwind hard. Crew are much happier today now they've had some news from home and are grateful it's not snowing here. We fed them some good British food last night - steak and kidney pie followed by gooseberry crumble, although we may have an impending tea crisis. We've been using nearly 40 tea bags per day and need to cut back otherwise we'll be out of tea by the halfway point. That would be a disaster in the British camp!
We saw the bottle nosed dolphins again last night - I could see them jumping against the starlight and listened to their squeaks through the hull. Dolphins do not sleep as we do - only one side of their brain sleeps at a time so they can continue to swim and surface to breath. We also saw a turtle at the surface yesterday. Many Europeans are surprised that we have turtles over here. Although some breed on Mediterranean beaches, most prefer the Caribbean, but many make the transatlantic trip each year in search of jellyfish. North Atlantic waters are far richer in nutrients than tropical coral-filled waters and so hold more food for turtles. Many of the turtles stranded on British beaches each year are found starving with plastic bags and children's balloons choking their stomachs. Please think when you choose a plastic carrier bag and dispose of it thoughtfully, and discourage mass balloon releases as most of these end up in the seas.
only half my brain sleeps - lol - mum xx
ReplyDeleteHang the tea bags out to dry - good for 3 or 4 uses each!
ReplyDeleteMight be a good idea to start going Scottish with your tea, and reuse your bags! It would be a travesty if you run out!
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest sharing T bags ?to ry & avoid the pendenig T crisis.
ReplyDeleteLots of people t out sailing club interested to hear how you are all getting on. Pointed them in the direction of the blog so you may get more conversation from blity. Julie x
40 tea bags a day! No wonder you need to make so much water
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