I've time to kill so let's go wild:
I'll cross the ocean. "Northern Child"
Is taking part in this year's ARC
I'll go along just for a lark.
Cecile thinks I am round the bend
Suggests instead I "phone a friend".
In this case Deborah, friend of years
Who's sailed a bit but also steers
Her path to other brave forays,
To deserts, Russia, Himalays.
The three of us meet up for dinner;
By bottle four it seems a winner!
So Deb and I go on a trip
To meet the skipper, see the ship.
Christian and Lucy hit the spot
And Northern Child's a lovely yacht.
All three have done the trip before;
Not just once but four or more.
So, money paid, we''re on the hook
And gradually the others book.
The route we'll take is not so dumb, as
It's the one that Chris Columbus
Used to sail across the pond
In search of India and beyond
('Though as we know, he'd actually reach
A lovely Caribbean beach).
We join the boat in Gran Canaria
Two-sixty more wait in the area.
And now we meet the other folks:
No more women, just ten blokes.
The ratio was not as planned
But fate had played a tricky hand:
Lucy was needed back at port;
Another girl at work was caught.
But Deborah bravely faced the gods
And said "Okay, I'll take those odds!"
Christian's Skipper, First Mate’s Tim
(Since Lucy couldn't come with him).
The crews a multilingual lot
(I may end up a polyglot!):
Matt, Tom and Howard are also Brit;
From Netherlands our man's Gerrit;
Eckhard's German, Flemming's Dane,
Dietmar's German, Adolfo Spain.
This motley crew now has four days
To stock the boat and learn its ways.
Each fruit, each veg as it approaches
Hand washed and dried to kill cockroaches.
Meat and carbs and water too
(And paper, vital for the loo!).
Twelve mouths, Three weeks - a lot of food
But to run out would not be good.
In every nook and cranny lies
Some vital part of our supplies.
Two watches, A and B, we'll keep:
While six are sailing six will sleep.
Watches work as five per team:
6, 6, 4, 4 and 4 more mean
A two day cycle round the clock
So sleep goes through a culture shock!
Those shorter watches (through the night):
When you have two, oh what delight!
And now it's start day! Bands! Parade!
But No! What's this? The start's delayed!
The weather south has gone to pot:
Our start is now a Tuesday slot.
Our real start is here at last:
Fenders in and lines all cast.
With sails pulled tight and beating heart
We cross the line - a flying start!
Two hundred yachts all in full flight
It's truly an amazing sight!
We fly down south, mile after mile
By evening we have lost the isle.
The biggest thing before St. Lucia
We might see's an ocean cruiser.
We gybe and now she points the way
Directly out to Rodney Bay!
As night sets in the sea swells rise
As rain and wind have filled the skies.
The wind is blowing force five-six
Four metre swells play wicked tricks.
Those first shifts prove to be quite testing
Between the watches no-one's resting.
In wee small hours when water's hairy,
Wind and rain make it quite scary.
This carries on for five more days
With records broke in many ways:
Fastest surf at twenty knots
(The Chinese gybe is best forgot!)
We long for calmer days ahead
When we can actually sleep in bed.
And then at last the waves subside
The mid-Atlantic Swell's arrived!
But now the wind has also gone;
There's talk we turn the engine on
But, no, to sail across we wish:
We'll cast a line and catch some fish.
The fish don't want to play the game:
Two take the bait but run away.
Perhaps tomorrow Mahi Mahi,
Tonight it's back to Thai Beef Curry!
The beauty's in the clear dark nights;
We've seen some quite amazing sights:
A moon rainbow and red moon-rise
(the latter really stunned our eyes)
Shooting stars and cloud formations,
Brushing up on constellations.
The wildlife's been a little sparse
(a bright spark notes there's not much grass!)
A pair of whales are briefly seen
But dolphins an elusive dream -
We saw some early in dark storms,
Perhaps there's more when water warms.
But flying fish all o'er the place
Our helmsman got one in the face!
We've cleaned the boat and mended sails
And hung our laundry on the rails
We've lain about and topped our tans
(it's now quite hot - we sleep with fans).
It's time the wind came back for us;
Now we miss those early gusts!
Ten days out and two thirds done,
We're getting thirsty for that rum!
With luck another five should do it
If we can av'rage seven knots through it.
A big round of applause for the multi-talented Richard and on that note, I shall close of for today and hope to bring you news of better progress tomorrow.