Postcard from Lancelot II – Weather Hot, Fishing lousy, Wish you were here
x
The final countdown has begun in earnest, as I write this we have 521
Nautical Miles to go to Rodney Bay. We are homeward bounders. We watch the miles
tick by on the chart plotter like an all absorbing soap opera. The sea state has
been lively to say the least with the wind at 25kts and averaging 9 knots boat
speed. Big Atlantic rollers push up and down like a cork sometimes. Some waves
are as tall as the helmsman as they come behind us and we surf down them.
Annette holds the record for boat speed on our watch – 14.4 knots. Yeha! Last
nights night watches started with a moon so bright you could almost read by it.
It lit our way with a runway of light to follow.
Newsflash – Fish update...>>>>>>>> Ocean 5 –
Lancelot 0. We got yet another bite yesterday but it got away again. Those tuna
are a master race. The other watch continue to attract flying fish like magnets
and had another nocturnal visit last night. It gave Jacko the lightest of kisses
on the ear and it flew past to cuddle Rob. Affectionate but stinky! It must be
the aftershave those guys wear. Food wise we have now used up all our
fresh provisions apart from part baked rolls and a mountain of cheese. So we
have broken in to the world of tinned food – we are dining on such delights as
Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney Pies, spam and the wonderfully labelled Fruity Cock
(Cocktail) ! And Terisa has just rustled up a quiche! The food of champions. The
British Empire was built on such gorgeous fodder.
As we race towards the finish and the miles click down we are all
reflecting on our journey together. We’ve all had to dig deep at times whether
through sea sickness, the heat, the general fatigue that extended watch keeping
brings or the uncomfortablness of the rough weather we experienced at the
beginning. ( I must admit I probably abused the power of prayer when I prayed
for dry pants at one point. They were delivered, so we are all good!) But to a
man we all say that sailing makes us feel alive. I will be a little sad when our
Lancelot bubble is burst and we all go our separate ways but I console myself
with the thought of crews to come and adventures yet unplanned. And who knows
when and where our paths will cross again? Trip of a lifetime? Certainly, but
the first of many. We are all addicted to this whether through sailing, hiking
or throwing ourselves out of planes! We talk of what we will do when we get to
St Lucia. The haloed first shower is top followed by phoning family and friends
and in Steve’s case eating a cheese burger and chips! We look forward to a lush
green, tropical island. It seems strange that we haven’t seen anything green
other than tinned peas for more than 2 weeks, and people? Don’t know if I can
cope with them! It is however only fair to warn St Lucia that we intend to go
out with a bang. Standby, the crew of Lancelot II are ready to party like rock
stars!
This will be the last round of blogs, so I bid you farewell and thank you
all for your fabulous messages and I’ll see you back in Blighty soon.
Meanwhile anyone up for fondu? And would you like spam with that?
Mel and the crew of Lancelot II xxxxxx