Day 10 March 27
The wind veered overnight and also eased so this morning we shook out the reefs in the mainsail and unfurled both foresails. It was a lovely morning’s sailing as we sat in the cockpit taking our ease.
The excitement of the morning was a flying fish that landed on deck. We returned it to the ocean. There was a glimpse of a freighter in the distance but it soon disappeared below the horizon.
For a couple of minutes, a bird circled the boat, Niall identified it as a Booby, but today that was the only one we spotted.
We are steadily eating our way through the fresh food store. We have three fridges to keep some vegetables fresh but the bulk is kept in the lazarette – the space at the very back of the boat. Niall and Mat bought the food and we take it in turns to cook whatever needs to be eaten up that day.
Sometimes the cooking becomes quite experimental. The plantains the other day were surprisingly nice in vegetable curry. (All meals are vegetarian).
Today Valerie is experimenting baking a chocolate cake in the bread maker.
I haven’t decided yet what concoction I am going to serve tonight. One thing, however, can be guaranteed. Everyone will eat large helpings of whatever I cook. I have never had such an appreciative group to cook for.
The skylights remain closed and the cabins remain stifling. We did change course last night for five minutes to open the skylights to cool the cabins.
It was fairly successful apart from the seawater that came through the vent above the corridor. Thankfully all the bunks remained dry.
Day 11 28 March
Chocolate cake. Something everyone loves. Valerie found some chocolate cake mixture in the store and thought it would be good to experiment making a cake in the bread maker. We had been heeled over at a steep angle on a starboard tack for hours and hours. The bread makers are secured on a shelf and so are at are the same angle. Interestingly the resulting cake came out wedge-shaped! It didn’t seem to make any difference to the taste, however, and there were only a few crumbs left after being served with cream for dessert last night!
This morning was much calmer and we hoisted all three sails. It was promising to be a very hot day with little wind. Jack spotted something in the water off our port bow and after peering hard in that direction we realised there were some dolphins. We altered course to be closer. There were about thirty Risso’s dolphins that swam leisurely past us. These dolphins don’t jump out of the water very much and it was really difficult to get any kind of a good picture. My reactions are much too slow! It was an exciting half an hour.
Later in the morning the wind increased which brought a welcome cooling breeze. Sam has likened the heat here to the inside of a kettle. I did some washing using plenty of pegs to fasten my shirt to the companion rail. I would hate it to be blown off into the water..
Jack took one of the winches to pieces to clean it and I finished reading the story of someone who spent 76 days drifting across the Atlantic in a five foot inflatable survival raft. It is a gripping story but perhaps it would be more appropriate to read it when you are on dry land and not when you are in a sailing boat in the middle of the ocean…..
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