We have had an injury on board! Big Pink was damaged on her way down for
the night. She became entangled with the baby stay and sustained a tear. She is
still in the sail hospital but may have surgery deferred until arrival as wind
has picked up and we do not need her services at present. She has been a very
valued member of the crew in all the light winds.
The sky was completely clear last night when I started my watch with
hundreds of stars. It has been cloudy over the last few nights so a joy to go up
on deck and see all the constellations and the milky way. The moon had already
set, so the night was dark but on a clear night it is easy to see the horizon.
The sea is deep black and the sky (using tights colour here) ‘nearly black’. As
my watch progressed some clouds appeared. At night they appear black, darker
than the sky, and quite ominous. A large one was heading for us and although I
could see the horizon beneath it, so there was no rain or squall, it still felt
doomed ladened as it passed overhead blocking out all the stars. The clouds
steadily increased all night so no great sunrise this morning.
Hugo saved a life on his watch. Sitting quietly he was startled by a loud
thud. He could not locate where it was from but then a flying fish was flapping
about at his feet. It jumped into a bucket and Hugo helped it back to sea.
Bread competition is still on, Hugo baked his signature red pepper loaf
with a sailing boat decoration. We continue to eat our way thru the fridge.
Having divested it of all the drinks to make way for food we now need to finish
the food to make way for some celebratory beers and wine.
Hugo continues to dominate the 5 Crowns card game competition. He has won
every round except the first one which I won with beginner’s luck. We play every
evening, weather permitting, as a pre dinner social chat, drinks and
snacks.
I opened our last packet of Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers last night. I had been
holding them back to ensure we were not left without. It is the night watch
snack of choice with tea or coffee. We had finished our supplies from home but
Susan and Steve kindly replenished our stocks when they came out to Lisbon and I
had hidden them while we were sailing around the Canaries. I am sure Boyd
Tunnock, owner of the caramel wafer factory and himself a keen yachtsman, would
be delighted to know they are helping Tulla Mhor across the Atlantic.
Have not being doing much by the way of exercise. The furthest I have
walked for the past 2 and 1/2 weeks is from the back of the boat to my cabin,
about 30ft. I have been going up and down the companion way a lot but that is
only 5 steps. Hugo and Andrew have been each others PTs and encouraging
increasing numbers of press ups performed across the cockpit using the seats. It
is seemingly easier if the boat is well heeled. Hope I can manage to stagger
around when we reach land.
During the day the flying fish are really beautiful, they skim up out of
the water in shoals, all iridescent and sparkly. They fly a surprisingly long
way, which a suppose one would if being chased by a large tuna.
We are currently sailing as far down wind as possible on starboard tack
with a direct course for St Lucia and making good time. Hope to be there in a
few days when we will have to re-enter the real world.
Val