Dear all,
After 14 days and over 2700 sea miles we are finally in sight of St. Lucia! The last 24 hours were pretty fun with a few nice squalls passing with tons of rain and a bit of wind! Richard has now made it into the "Over 20 Club" with a top speed of 23 knots!!! It is a small club but we are happy to have him as our newest member! Well earned!
This will probably be the last email you will receive from the boat and this address. Soon our cell phones and iPads will have service and we will be in contact with you all individually. Back to reality… We still have a few more miles to go to the northern tip of St. Lucia and then a nice beat into the finish line. We have 22-25 knots of wind so we will have good ride right up to the end.
I could go on and on about our experiences during the trip but instead I thought I would cull through the many responses we have received during our passage and let you read a few tidbits that we have received along the way. We had quite a few so I cannot include all of them but I thought I would include some of the daily poems sent to us as well as light hearted comments on our general condition! And just so you know, we have gotten the smell under control! Mostly!
And now - The responses (names withheld from most comments)!
From Wanda with Love:
I shall sleep and move with the moving ships.
Change as the winds change, veer in the tide:
My lips will feast on the foam of thy lips,
I shall rise with thy rising, with thee subside
A C Swinburne
P.s. Can somebody please tell me if daddy has started to grow a beard thank you :-)
Thanks for the updates. Sounds like a real mans trip when you name the refrigerator….
Its better at sea...dealing with an infestation of head lice here on land! Oh the joys :)
“The sea, the snotgreen sea, the scrotumtightening sea.”
— James Joyce, Ulysses
As I am sitting here on the 17th floor of 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan dealing with the daily issues of my clients, and as I am reading your accounts of camaraderie and adventure, it occurs to me that I reallyhate you all!
Hey guys - make sure X reads all three volumes of "50 Shades of Grey"!!! For a maximum of inspiration, in favour of his wife... (Have not read these book myself...Maybe I should?)
Absolutely love the daily updates - highlight of my day. Must be an incredible experience out there, and I'd love to do it someday (*cough* *cough*, uncle fred... :) But it sure sounds like y'all stink.
P.s. do you stink, papa or just the boat?
Dear crew of Ace, dear pappa!
I just had my morning-shower - I don't stink, juhu!!!
I'm so relieved to hear that despite all the other inspiring and glowing reports of your blissful time and travels together, you are exposed to at least a little reality - in the form of stench and drench.
Everyday I´m checking on brix – where you are, and yes I saw you yesterday driving in the wrong direction and I thought o god the steering man and the navigator found out how good whisky can be at night during a philosophical discussion with a friend .-) , but it seem all is under control again and you were just searching for more wind .-))
I have been following your intrepid march across the Atlantic from snippets of information gleaned from various sources....Jackson sabbeth at a sleepover, Bruce Tait at the bar, Bettina Stelle when she stopped to talk with me about Aussie...I have to admit I was feeling pretty sorry for myself that I was left out of the loop. Bruce just forwarded me all of the messages so I could catch up. Then I had a revelation. THE F***ING SPAM BOX! I had to sift through the usual penis enhancers (definitely don't need them), Viagra (don't need that), meet Christian singles (no comment) and there were all the Ace emails. Anyway, I feel loved again.
Time: 10:20 St. Lucia Time!!!!!
Position: 14*11.3'N 060*43.3'W
Wind: 23 knots from 89*
Weather: Squalls to the West, Clear behind
Speed: 9 knots
Heading: Straight to the barn!
Crew of ACE