Well, it's been seven days almost to the minute since we left St Lucia and we are now about 15 miles from the finish line in San Blas. I am still defying biology by running on very little sleep; I seem to have managed about 2 to 3 hours per day since we left. We have figured out a watch system which will work for us going forward though, so we will use that on the next long leg to Galapagos.
On Friday night we had a fair amount of wind and sea, with the stronger gusts pushing 40 knots. We tag-teamed on the steering in two hour watches due to our malfunctioning Autohelm. This seemed to work well, although it was a bit tiring as you can imagine. We have been very impressed with the way Matilda handles; she seems to love the stronger winds and feels very secure in the cockpit. We had a couple of big waves hit us from side-on which took us by surprise (you often get occasional waves running across the swell). These waves shot a lot of water into the air and we sometimes got a little wet, but that was the worst of it.
I also seem to have conquered my lifelong motion sickness. It's strange, but I haven't suffered at all across the Atlantic or the Caribbean Sea. Even when below on the computer or reading in the bunk in a bumpy sea I seem to be able to cope even better than Heather, which is a complete role reversal.
After the big night Friday night, yesterday the wind almost died completely, leaving only the big swell to bob us around. We had a worrying hour or two where it looked as though we would be arriving in San Blas after nightfall tonight. This would have meant staying at sea for another night to enter during daylight; we are a bit conservative as we don't have much experience entering strange anchorages. The wind picked up nicely yesterday though, and we are zipping along again now at 6 or 7 knots. "Working on a Dream"is gaining on us fast, but I think we can squeeze across the finish line ahead of her!
We're both looking forward to a swim/snorkel and a beer/wine at sunset this evening. Karsten from "Gunvor XL"described the anchorage for us on yesterday's radio net (the daily nets have been brilliant). He said the water temperature is 26 degrees, the fish are colourful, and don't bother trying to contact the other boats which had arrived as he could see them drinking beer on the beach - sounds perfect!
Our next blog will be sent from the anchorage, and please wish us luck. This will be the first time we have anchored on Matilda after overhauling her windlass, buying new chain and replacing the anchor shackles. How hard can it be?
Jonathan