Good days are Dolphin Days, and in the Remarks Column of the 1700 hours Log Entry, it simply says -1628 St Lucia here we come-.
The Dolphins first presented themselves at sunrise. They popped up a hundred yards or so from Cleone, where one show-off proved to the watching Louisa how far he could jump out of the sea. A pod fifteen or so in number, they then swam alongside surfing our wake and diving beneath us before disappearing as suddenly as they had arrived. Some say that dolphins are territorial and are simply escorting passing vessels safely through their bit of the ocean. I know not whether this has any scientific basis, but dolphins always seem to be full of infectious joy. We are always glad to see them and feel their presence portends a good day.
One of the excellent seminars in Las Palmas was given by a noted practical navigator named Stokey. In case you are curious, the Skipper already has already asked the obvious question (he frequently does, and is often surprised when he gets the obvious answer - Ed). Stokey started supporting Stoke City as a nipper and is still a fan, and he acquired the nick-name for good whilst he was serving in the 16th/5th Lancers. Anyway, amongst many other more conventional techniques, having confirmed to us ARCers the use of Butter as a reliable guide to sailing a successful trans-Atlantic Crossing, Stokey taught us how to navigate with the aid of a frying pan. During a post-seminar discussion, between them the Skipper and Francesca-the-Mate had decided that, whilst no doubt sound, the frying-pan trick was not the technique needed and, Cleone's fridge notwithstanding, they would have to rely on the Butter as an aid to decision-making. Yesterday afternoon, shortly after the start of the first Dog-Watch, Francesca-the-Mate peered carefully into the butter tub, took a sounding with a pencil and asked Louisa for a second and Kaya for a third opinion. At 1626 hours, Francesca declared that the butter had indeed melted. By 1627 she had presented her evidence and convinced the Skipper of this truth, and, having taken time to gather himself, at 1628 he ordered a change of course to 275 degrees (magnetic). Of course this order was immediately executed, and since then we have been sailing (he means mainly motor-sailing - Ed) the Great Circle Route towards St Lucia.
In fact, amongst long periods of motoring, we have had some excellent down-wind sailing. We have used the benign conditions to hoist the Mizen Staysail, the Asymmetric and the All Purpose(AP) Spinnakers and made our best efforts to keep all sails full and Cleone up to speed. Time will tell whether these efforts have succeeded, and time will also tell whether we were right to turn onto the Great Circle Route when we did, or whether we should have kept the butter in the fridge for a bit longer.
Francesca's cold has all but vanished, and Dr Kaya has declared that all crew are now fully fit for duty.
All well here aboard Cleone, and best wishes and love to you all.
James, Francesca, Louisa and Kaya
Yacht Cleone
At sea
Position at 1200UTC on 28 Nov 2024: N23deg03min: W020deg54min