Firstly; apologies for the late appearance of yesterday’s blog. Although I started trying to send it at 20:30 it didn’t finally make its way to the mainland until after midnight. Hope we didn’t alarm anyone!
Yacht NoStress’s role as a funambulist in the ARC continues. After wavering closer to the storm system of the North than we’re keen to recall we’re now involved in the balancing act of trying to head West, avoid the hole in the weather that lies in the direct route between us and St. Lucia, steal some headway South to where the stronger winds are to be found, and hold a rig that gives us some reasonable drive in the current light airs. Figures from the race committee indicate that boats similar to us but 120 miles further South clocked 130 miles yesterday when we only clocked 90. The maths add up. We’re seeing 10 knots of wind and reports say there’s 15~18 further South. Our current dilemma is whether we stay on our present course and hope to pick up the stronger wind soon, or turn south, sacrificing headway to the target in return for the promise of stronger wind. As I write this the jury is still out - tune in to tomorrow’s gripping episode to find out what happens...
With the light airs we decided on another sail change. We put the smaller jib away and flew the cruising chute running the sheet via the end of the boom (for those that are interested). Apart from being a bit more selective about the angle she’s happy to run at, it’s a good system and gave us a boost in boat speed and a very steady ride with hardly any roll.
Daily jobs continue, Jake caught more fish, Des butchered and filleted them, Paul and I are on galley duty tonight and will be re-heating a spicy chicken & pineapple dish that he prepared and chilled a few days ago. Although conditions are good for cooking new meals we’re now trying to finish all of the fresh and chilled food before switching to the frozen and canned produce - though it seems fresh fish will stay on the menu for now.
The crew are in good spirits though one can sense a mood of pensive anticipation: “Come on wind, where are you!?” - yet that’s literally a sailor’s lot. You can plan your course and trim your sails but you have no control over the wind, so you stare at the horizon as though the wind in the Atlantic is playing hide & seek with you, and if you could just catch a glimpse of it somewhere then you could somehow snare it and command it to do your bidding. Such are the ways one’s thoughts wander in this vast open space. I expect some of the crew will return with scatter-brained ideas of books they’d like to write. At least half of them are keeping journals (with varying degrees of discipline) so they might be jotting embryonic plot lines in those pages - they might even be valuable at some point in the future! ;-)
Closing out today’s blog I thought I’d mention some things we like about our current location, and some of things we’re missing:
Things we like: Each other - we have a good team who have supported one another, Dolphins (two visits today), Clear skies & warm sunshine, Peace & quiet (though Des & Nick Chuckle can disturb this when on watch together), Great views of the firmament at night, Very fresh fish, The mighty yacht NoStress.
Things we miss: Our family (including pets) and friends (yes you, you lovely lot), Cold beer and good red wine, A stationary kitchen & bathroom, The local (Claire), A T-bone at the Zetland (Nick), A nice stroll, One’s own bed, and - Home.
And finally on behalf of everyone on board I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone who’s been following and supporting us on our journey. It means a lot to us.
Love & thanks,
Alex, Nick, Des, Claire, Paul & Jake
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