With less than 100 miles to sail, we are having a
beautiful day. Unfortunately this appears to be lost on the crew because they
are all watching the chart plotter as it counts down the miles to go. Admittedly
the last few days have seen our average speed drop considerably as we avoid
damage in the squalls and therefore are sailing a trifle too reefed, 'better
safe than sorry'. Also it means that we will arrive in Rodney Bay as the
sun comes up.
Everyone knows that 'a watched clock is a stopped
clock'. I made that one up but the sentiment is the same as 'a watched pot
never boils'.
So the challenge is how to entertain/distract the crew
for the rest of the voyage.
It took all of 5 minutes for the crew to determine what
they wished they had brought on their first Atlantic crossing:
Nicholas - a pocket crew that could be rehydrated into
full size whenever the going got tough. They wouldn't consume much in rations
etc as they could be dehydrated back to pocket size after use, ready for their
next outing.
Michele - a Sumo Suit to prevent the bruising from
ricocheting around the galley
Iona - a micro climate hemisphere to bring out
whenever the weather was not conducive to optimal passage making. It would
calm the seas and steady the breeze
Jono - more Percy Pigs!
So we had better gybe for our final tack into St Lucia.
This takes at least an hour of crew time and will be a distraction. Oh dear, our
fastest time ever, all over in 30 minutes and we are pointing at the north tip
of St Lucia with 95 miles to go!
Soooo, let's rework 'Twelve Days of Christmas' but we
have been at sea for more than 12 days and it is more than 12 days to Christmas!
Never mind this is a very personal reworking that is specific to the good ship
Maalu IV and all who sailed the Atlantic in her.
Twelve Days of Sailing
On the first day of sailing our skipper gave to us,
a petrel in our boat at sea;
On the second day of sailing our skipper gave to us, two
frozen fridges;
On the third day of sailing our skipper gave to us,
three deep reefs;
On the fourth day of sailing our skipper gave to us,
four crew a sprawling;
On the fifth day of sailing our skipper gave to us, five
amps solar power;
On the sixth day of sailing our skipper gave to us,
six-ty mins gybing;
On the seventh day of sailing our skipper gave to us,
force seven squalls blowing;
On the eighth day of sailing our skipper gave to us,
eight knots SOG* sailing;
On the ninth day of sailing our skipper gave to us, nine
Percy Pigs scoffing;
On the tenth day of sailing our skipper gave to us, ten
bruises swelling;
On the eleventh day of sailing our skipper gave to us,
eleven fishes flying;
On the twelfth day of sailing our skipper gave to us,
twelve hours night watching.
*SOG Speed Over Ground
Apologies to the original song writers.
Further blogs will be fueled by a full nights sleep and
Caribbean rum!
Final pilotage