Great steady progress over night. A few squalls, but no significant challenges. By morning we were still heading in the right direction looking at a record 24 hours passage. Antoine the Autopilot decided to go rogue in the morning with a bit of directional wobble. Master mariner Colin had to step in for a while to pass on his knowledge and experience of handling the wind/cross wave conditions.
Antoine’s reason for his apparent lack of concentration became clear as there was a new entry for the poetry stakes; we think Antoine, on behalf of Calash the Sweden Yacht 45, had been using all his AI capability to produce this masterpiece:
Ode to a Sweden Yacht
Oh, would I were a Sweden Yacht
A sailing on the sea
From Las Palmas to Rodney Bay
A nautical life for me.
The course is set, but we’re yet to get
The wind to fill my sails
But the sun does shine
…and we’ve got the time
To see the pilot whales.
A skipper’s aboard, and oh my Lord
Who are this motley crew?
With the sails set right
…both day and night
There’s not a lot to do.
You’ll find for this mission,
…I’m in perfect condition
Now I’ve forced you to go and buy lots
Antoine my mate
…I think you’ll find great
As a champion of all autopilots.
As the wind gets stronger
…and the wave period longer
You’ll find that the sea will get lumpy
The rocking’s obscene
…like a washing machine
And you’ll all start to feel a bit grumpy!
But please do not touch
…or the damage will be much
For the skills that you think you have mastered
In the gusts and the gales
…make tears in my sails
Please stop it you stupid rich … businessman!
So please take the time, it’ll be such a crime
To want social media or news
Enjoy the delight of a clear starry night
And the stunning deep ocean blue views.
Let you not forget,
…as you cry “are we there yet”
That the destination, it is not
But the journey you take
…and the friends that you make
All thanks to your great Sweden Yacht.
Indeed, we have to report a new daily record for our 24 hour passage. Hopefully this will continue all the way to Rodney Bay in time for cocktails next Friday.
24 hour progress – 190 nm – cumulative 2213 nm
It was more of the same in the afternoon. I decided to tackle the Nasi Goreng with sundried tomatoes recipe with extra chicken and chorizo for the carnivores. This went down (& stayed down) well with the punters, so thanks to Dr Lanyon’s cooking class!
Night shift was uneventful, although Alan initially denied he was on first watch even though he invented the rota. I got up early as I was convinced that the boat wasn’t moving and I could hear an engine closing in on us. Actually we were still on the same course with sails set doing 10 knots. Second sign of madness!
Clive the cabin boy standing by…