There have been some mysterious happenings onboard Neverland over the last 24 hours. We found two flying fish on the bow this morning which isn’t in itself a mystery because the lunatics seem to hurl themselves out of the water without any regard for their welfare or safety - much like my sister Flora approaching a busy intersection (soz Floss – whoever taught you to go round a roundabout in 4th gear is wrong!). Anyway, the real mystery is where we found one of them…inside the anchor locker. Weird. Dunno how he got in there but if the plan was to end up as fish bait he succeeded. Dad and I were about to enjoy our breakfast of porridge and a banana (spoon in hand) when Tom appeared with both flying fish, sat himself at the table next to us, plonked the stinky fish down on the cockpit table and blissfully proceeded to poke hooks into them. I cannot put into words how bad they smell. Sooooo breakfast was over.
As well as flying fish, the coachroof was scattered with translucent baby squid last night. This might of made sense had we been beating into waves with water washing over the boat but that hasn’t been the case at all…so how did they get there?! Do squid jump? Have they crawled up the side of the boat? Either way, not our favourite crispy calamari.
We lost ANOTHER lure yesterday to ANOTHER beast leaving Tom and Dad quietly enraged at having been beaten again. That’s 2 to the creatures of the deep, 1 to Neverland. At least we haven’t had our rod snapped in half like our friend Kristian on Le Soleil!
Thankfully we have found the wind and been sailing along at between 5.5 and 8 knots for the last 24 hours and should arrive in time for breakfast in Cape Verdes tomorrow. That will give us 3 days to re-provision, re-fuel, re-stock our dwindling fishing lures, do some much needed laundry, shower! and explore some of Cape Verdes. There is talk of hiring some electric bikes. Last time I rode a bicycle I was almost mowed down by a granny on a mobility scooter on Battersea Park Road so I don’t have fond memories. I am however hopeful that the electrical aspect of the bike will stand me in better stead. I’ll let you know.
P.S That’s 3 to the creatures of the deep and 1 to Neverland. Why am I finding their frustrations increasingly hilarious (chuckling quietly to myself).
Neverland Out.
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