November 30th
Wait for this!
Fish Count “2” – A tuna, snapped at our hook, and was caught after a prolonged period of trying to get the fish landed. A gimble fishing harness was worn, many helpers at hand. A lot of pulling and tugging to get the fish on board (a Royal Battle). Roars of laughter broke out amongst the crew that could be heard as far away as Grand Canary and St Lucia as a baby skip jack tuna was pulled out of the water and landed on the pushpit, the fish weighed at least ½ Kilo. Well done George!!
Our newly caught prize was devoured at lunch today, George making an excellent Sushi, along with pie, coleslaw, cheese, and chorio prepared by Susie.
We are still motor sailing along, speeding along at just over 8 knots, our fuel status is good and we are making steady progress towards our goal of St Lucia. The weather is hot, sunny and blue skies, its difficult to stay out of the suns harmful rays. Everyone on board is happy, we have been given the license to shower and use up some of the water to make the boat lighter. The wind is gradually increasing as I write this blog, 10 knots recorded.
Today we will pass the halfway mark 1350 nautical miles, celebrating tonight with gammon, egg and chips, with a beer. Yippee!!
In memory of Simons late father and mother, he dispatched from the port side of Ocean Venture a commemorative battle of Trafalgar coin at the mid point crossing of the Atlantic Ocean (1350 nautical miles). It was Simons late fathers dream to sail across the Atlantic Ocean which he did not manage to achieve before his passing away.
This is Ocean Venture signing off xx
November 29th
Fish Count – Still 1. Waiting patiently. Had a couple of bites, but they escaped.
We are getting creative with making fishing lures – bits of pipe, foil, shredded plastic bottle, coloured tape, string, you name it, we’ll stick a hook on it and throw it off the back.
Big news today is that following a group meeting with the entire crew and lots of maths we have decided to switch on the engine. After being totally calmed for an hour last night, and almost three days of bobbing around with very little wind, the prospect of extending the trip to what was calculated to be about December 18th was not appealing. We had done our best to head south in search of breeze but with no luck. Those of you tracking our progress on the GPS will have noticed our southerly diversion: no more! Other boats in the racing division that had stayed in the north – risking being stuck in the no wind zone – are all now heading south too. We would be very surprised if they didn’t also decide to switch on their engines. The team decision to motor means that we drop out of the racing division into the open division. The bonus is that with the engine on we can all have hot showers! Spirits remain high and we have switched to a more leisurely watch system: 2 hours on, 6 hours off.
After dropping the spinnaker George went for a quick dip while we adjusted course – although he did climb out quickly after fighting off a shark (lol jk).
Still no other boats in sight, but beautiful sunny days and delicious food prepared by Roy are reminding us all how much we are enjoying each other’s company and being on this great adventure.
Caz – got your email, thanks love, call you when in St Lucia. Galya still in India.
Niki – Simon will ring you when in St Lucia
Until tomorrow, this is Ocean Venture signing off x