BattPack Log Day 7 - Dec 1st - I did the sunrise shift
and dear Ruby woke up to join me for the last hour and we watched the multi-hued
sky. When Jason woke up, he took over at the helm and I grabbed another hour of
sleep. I awoke to the delightful smell of a fried breakfast. Utterly delicious
and devoured by all. It is the first of December- advent calendars! Much delight
amongst the kids!
Another ARC boat, which we had seen in the night, sailed
up close to us and shouted their hello's! It is comforting to know that there
are other boats in the vicinity in this vast ocean.
The winds are still high, between 20-30kts, which is
between a Force 6-7 and the sea is still churned up. In fact,that is exactly
how I would describe my stomach too! By now, day 7, I should surely be at one
with the motion of the waves. Alas, having declared that I had finally got my
sea legs on day 5, it has been shaky ground ever since! I take another
seasickness tablet, a different brand this time, which hopefully won't make me
feel so sleepy. Hurrah, I perk up and enjoy the latter half of the day far more
than the former!
We head to the bow of the boat for a different
perspective, as 95% of our time is spent safely in the cockpit. We find a flying
fish that had flown onto the deck and got stranded. Poor thing died in it's
struggle and is inspected by our fascinated crew. So we have caught 1 fish, just
not in the traditional sense!
Today marks the day 1 year ago that my dear Grandpa
died. We have swapped our favourite stories of him all day. We feast on a
delicious meal of Black Bean Beef with a pudding of home-baked shortbread in his
honour. God bless his soul!
We have sailed a record 181 miles in the last 24 hours -
yay!
BattPack Log Day 8 - Dec 2nd - Bliss! A night off
from watches last night for me. I popped my earplugs in and got the first decent
bit of kip since we left the Canaries! What a world of difference that makes! We
woke up to the sound of Jago and Liberty giggling in their bunk- both super
excited about day 2 of their advent calendars!
We decided it was high time to get a little more
festive. The kids made a yummy gingerbread house which was made, decorated and
demolished within an hour and a half. We bought some festive window gel gems out
with us and the kids got busy decorating our windows. Jago and Liberty both
began to write Christmas stories - some very sweet creation going on. They are
becoming increasingly inventive about how to while away the hours.
Alex is getting on so well with his cousins - indeed
with us all! he has brought a wonderful, fresh dimension to the boat. Such a
gorgeous boy and a total joy to have around. When he sits with the kids, there
is much merriment and some fabulous accents. The kids are loving having their
Grandpa onboard too and he and Jago enjoyed a guitar strumming session today! We
are all enjoying quality time with each other and are reminded how important it
was to bring the right balance of people together on this
adventure!
There has been sunshine for most of the day which has
been very welcome. The wind has come off a bit and the sea is a little more
settled. We have covered a respectable 179 miles in the last 24
hours.