Cleone ARC 2024 - SITREP 3
Given a chance,
everything on a yacht will do its best to go wrong or break. And in better news,
Louisa thought she saw a Mermaid swimming around Cleone in the middle of last
night.
Everyone has
their own definition of the meaning of the word yacht. One of my friends
describes it simply as a small sailing vessel with a cabin and a cockpit, both
of which are big enough and equipped to share a Gin and Tonic with three or four
friends. Others, less discerning, talk about combinations of seaworthiness,
configuration, conformation, rig types, design and so on and so forth. Of
course, all of these definitions are valid. But in truth, a yacht is a small
sailing vessel crammed with a large number of different electrical, mechanical,
electronic and other systems, and bits and pieces of all shapes and sizes. All
of these things are just waiting to go wrong, and all of them choose the most
awkward time to do so.
Bearing the
above in mind, the generous locker space that line all of Cleone's cabins and
lie beneath the sole of the main cabin are full (some would say too full) of
tools and spare parts, large and small. Needless to say, despite the thought and
expense of providing the wherewithal to maintain and repair her systems, when
something does go wrong, neither is there the actual spare nor is there exactly
the right tool available to fix it. So when things do go wrong, improvisation is
the order of the day. Thus far, we have only had minor breakages and repairs,
and, under the Skipper's beady (at least he thinks it still is - Ed) eye, Kaya,
Louisa, and Francesca-the-Mate have repaired holes in the sails, sorted bent
shackles and devised better ways of organising some of the running rigging to
reduce chafe. We are all conscious that the Repair and Maintenance battle has
only just begun, and a daily programme of inspection has been put in
place.
We have also
been blessed with a proper day of sailing. The wind has been fair, the sun has
shone and throughout most of yesterday afternoon, for the first time, we flew
the big spinnaker. Prudently we doused this just before sunset, and this gave us
all an opportunity to enjoy an unclouded view of the sun sinking below the
horizon. It is always surprising that once the lower lobe of the sun touches the
horizon, it disappears in a few minutes. Although visibility was clear, it did
not quite give us the conditions to see the famed Green Flash. The night passed
without incident, though now that the fleet has dispersed the twinkle of white,
red and green lights has considerably diminished.
Oh, the Mermaid.
Despite her strong belief, the rest of us eventually managed to overturn
Louisa's conviction, and we all agreed that it was just part of a particularly
intense display of photoluminescence.
Apart from
Francesca's now improving cough, all are well on board.
Best wishes and
love to you all,
James,
Francesca, Louisa and Kaya
Yacht
Cleone
At
sea
Position at
1200UTC on 27 Nov 2024: N23deg31min: W018deg48min