The wind came up at 19.00 last night with the arrival of a couple of Atlantic squalls. These are amazing – very dark clouds, low in the sky, with curtains of rain beneath them. Big wind shifts as the squalls approach – up to 30/40 degrees so the autopilot is steered by the wind vane and we go where the wind takes us. The squalls pass through quickly though in the main, and we revert to the normal heading (285 degs) shortly thereafter.
The Bistro Parisien was open on Boni Venti last night – steak, mini roast potatoes and green beans with a great drop of Rioja on the side! Karen’s cooking is superb as always – and we haven’t had the same main course twice yet. This could be about to change though as we dive into the stocks of frozen chicken and sweet corn. Even top ARC chefs need a little help though, and today’s photo shows Karen doing her menu planning with a little help from Delia!
Busy night on watch yesterday so a slow start to the day with plenty of napping to catch up. Good winds during the day – 12-15 kts ESE – and we’ve just sailed through a couple of major squalls with wind speed gusting 29 Kts and boat speed max 12.2 kts. The swell is dampened massively by the rain, and the bimini doubles up as a huge umbrella to keep us dry, albeit with a few leaks!
Cocktail hour postponed this evening due to inclement weather. A lively night in store with the squalls.
Until tomorrow......
Jonathan.