Challenger 4 - Challenger 4 Entry Thirteen

The night it all changed….

The last 24 hours has been full of excitement, as we crossed the 2,000 NM mark and turned our sights toward the green hills and sandy beaches of St. Lucia (now only 997 miles away). We began yesterday evening sailing under the spinnaker until around 0100, when we had our first night watch all hands call of the trip to bring down and wool the kite.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement for the evening, we also had several close encounters of the marine variety. Our skipper was struck in the head by a rogue flying fish, clearly seeking revenge for all of Tony and Bruce’s efforts to catch one of his acquaintances. The crew’s response was noisy if not heroic, as Hayley and Amelia contributed to the screaming, eventually inspiring the fish to jump back over the deck.

The same watch also witnessed a pod of dolphins swimming alongside Challenger IV and emitting what was later described as a “sneezing” sound. And for the grand finale, the graveyard watch shift heard and saw tell-tale signs of an orca less than 5 meters from the boat, but a moonless night prevented positive identification.

Our sailing day was full of sunshine and breezy, if not windy, conditions, thus allowing the crew to finish some much needed laundry and work on their tans. And this evening, in addition to a wonderful pasta dinner and banana nut bread created by the mother watch, we’ve had a bit of excitement as the skipper and mates tapped into their creative spirit with the sail configuration. Everyone on board is anxious to see the results come morning!

Nicky sends love to all the family. She can’t wait to speak to you from St. Lucia and tell you all about this amazing experience.

Matt, Nicky and Helen