Wednesday 30th November
1218 miles sailed 1777 to go
More contract whist on deck last night, won by Paul in a nail-biter of a
final round. Happily, we think that that may be the last on-deck game of
cards, not because we didn't enjoy it, but because playing cards on deck can
only happen when there is virtually no wind. We now have the wind that we
have been sailing South to find; only about 8 knots, but it is forecast to
build steadily. We are currently flying the parasailor and making about 5
knots. If the wind does continue to build, we should be able to increase our
speed towards the boat's maximum of over 7 knots, which is determined by
its size, shape and sail arrangement. Having found the wind, we are now in a
position to make some assumptions (always dangerous!) to estimate our eta in
St Lucia. With about 1800 miles to go, assuming an average speed of 6 knots,
we would take 12.5 days to get there, making our arrival date 12th or 13th
December, a few days later than we had hoped. Watch this space.
We are all now in the rhythm of night watches and daily rotas for preparing
meals and washing up. Those of you who read Fiona's blog on Monday will be
aware that Captain David changed the boat time to UTC -1 to reflect the fact
that we are travelling west. Unfortunately he didn't tell my alarm clock,
and nor did I, so the 4 am alarm to get us up for our watch last night went
off at 3 am. What a waste of an hour's sleep.
As well as enjoying the sight of more flying fish, we have had a few
egrets - see photo.
A very Happy St Andrew's Day to all our readers. Haggis tonight. Rumours
that there's a tot of whisky to accompany it.
Wistful times.
Helen
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