As was the trend, Colin & Callum’s watch bore no resemblance to the first watch. They had winds up to 35 knots and very confused and lumpy seas. Things turned dramatic at about 0300 hrs, when a huge wave breached the rear of the boat, soaking both of them, drowning the fresh vegetables and whooshing through the open deck portholes to soak both rear cabins, its contents and poor Jamie who endured the full waterfall effect! This is not quite what we had in mind for an open deck jacuzzi, but I guess we need to be a little more specific in our specification for the next shooting star! Thankfully, everything was just wet and no damage or injury. Jamie and I sprung to action as the Emergency Response Team, with underpants securely fitted over our shorts, rapidly arriving onsite to take control of the situation; we confirmed that Colin & Callum were soaked and promptly went back to bed. The swirling, twisting, bouncing, rocking and rolling continued through Alan’s watch and the rest of the morning – light admin duties were assumed by all.
24 hour progress – 180 nm – cumulative 1700 nm
More of the same in the afternoon, tracking west south west towards Guyana. No tweaking today. It was time for poetry as this masterpiece was composed by Jamie:
For forty days and forty nights
he took himself to bed
When he awoke at last he spoke
and this is what he said:
“it’s time to gybe! We can’t delay,
for south of us lies peril
The waves down there are monstrous
and the flying fish are feral.
We must turn north to kinder seas,
to bluer skies, to gentler breeze
North to wine and better cheese
North to set my mind at ease”.
So gybe we did without delay
and bade farewell to Rodney Bay
We managed north-north-east until
The wind came round, began to fill
Each wave was like a rumbling hill
The thunder deep, the gale shrill
The orcas closing for the kill.
“ You fools! He called with wild eyes
Why did you insist we gybe?
This northern route will be our end
The sheets will part, the sails rend
On one thing now our lives depend
Another gybe, our course to mend”.
Once more we sail for southern skies
Off to starboard ‘Lucia lies
A navigational surprise
The plan opaque but no doubt wise
“It’s not a race, but wait and see:
We’ll gybe our way to victory”.
The benchmark has been set yet again by Jamie – will any fellow mariners onboard be willing to challenge our poet laureate? Wait and see on another thrilling episode of your Cabin Boy’s Log…
Back to our more mundane routine and supper menu for this evening was chicken fajitas, cooked by my fair hand (for those who know me, they will realise what a major achievement this is). However, not quite challenging Jamie as favourite for Voyage MVP, I’m afraid. There’s no direct correlation between bitterness, jealously, envy and the fact that Jamie had left-overs for his supper! The ‘A’ Team had a beer each to celebrate passing the halfway mark, both in terms of time and distance, we hope.
Night watch was routine too, although we did spot another yacht on the horizon, the first for a couple of days.
Clive the cabin boy standing by…