Humiliating news!. Dee, the ocean sailing rookie who two weeks ago had never stood a night watch, last night during her three hours averaged 8.433 nautical miles per hour. Robert, who two weeks ago was also an ocean
sailing rookie, during his watch averaged 8.466. And me, who has done this before and who is the proud owner of El Mundo, only managed to average 8.2 nautical miles per hour. I am now sitting here at my keyboard sulking!. Of course, ice-man Nick, the sailor with over 30 years experience, beat us all with an average 8.633 nautical miles per hour during his three hour watch. As some small compensation to myself, Nick took over from me at 0300 when we were 2.1 miles off the direct line route to Rodney Bay. After his watch we were 5.0 miles off the direct line route - my thinking is any fool can sail a boat fast in the wrong direction! Robert has just pointed out that wind direction and strength might have had something to do with it - I am not quite sure whether he is trying to make me feel better or whether he is trying to explain Nick going off-line. Lets move on with the summation that it is great for me to have three (competitive) people aboard who are working so hard to help El Mundo do her best.
Missed the blog yesterday because - in truth - I slept all afternoon. But it really was one of those days when there was absolutely nothing to report. We have this morning just passed the 500 miles to go marker and everybody's thoughts are beginning to turn to when we arrive and family. Its really strange how one's perspective changes. If we were sailing in the Med or around the UK 500 miles would seem like a huge distance; out here in the Atlantic it doesn't seem like any distance at all. And seas which two weeks ago would have been reported in the log as 'rough' now seem to carry the descriptor of 'slight'. And my list of 'what if's' is slowly diminishing. At the beginning of the trip during one night watch I had a bad attack of the 'what if's' - the 'what if's' are all the things that could possibly go wrong. At one end of the scale was the mast falling down or a crew mutiny - at the other was running out of chocolate or coffee. I think I got to a total of 437 'what if's'.
And with the trip and hence the blogs beginning to draw to an end, I have been thinking about all the things I haven't told you about. But in truth it is hard to do so without falling back on all the old cliches - the night skies which look like a billion twinkling diamonds (I did warn you about cliches) criss-crossed by the occassional high-flying aircraft; the phospheressence which glows brightly for a few seconds as we pass through; EL Mundo lifting her skirts and running and running and running with inexhaustible energy; the feeling as the boat powers up before surfing down a following wave; the gentle murmer and hiiiiiissssssss of the sea; the quietness that descends on the boat during the afternoon as the crew sleep or read (apart from Mother who sweats in the galley preparing afternoon tea), a particular quietness that tells you all is well with the world; dolphins playing around the bows on occasion; the blazing sunrises and the blazing sunsets. Of course it hasn't all been like this but that is another amazing thing about sailing - how quickly one forgets the bad bits and just remembers the good bits.
Now for the El Mundo brain-teaser. Two today to make up for missing yesterday which should bring it up to a total of 12 by the end of the whole trip.
Question Number 9.
Mr Arbuthnot plays polo on Good Friday and injures his leg. He is taken directly to hospital from the polo field and spends two nights in hospital, leaving on the Monday. Explain.
And Question Number 10.
Two El Mundo crew members on their night watch share a box of ten identically wrapped chocolates containing four milk and six plain chocolates. Each crew member picks five chocolates out of the box. Which is more likely; that a crew member will have all the milk chocolates or no milk chocolates in their selection?
As always have fun.
And as always our love to all those who matter ashore to Jonathan, Dee, Robert and Nick.
This is yacht El Mundo. Oooovvvvveeeeerrrrrr aaannnnndddddd out!