Ace - at Sea

dear all,

our world is composed of pretty basic elements: the shallow bowl of the sea, it's radius determined by the height of the waves and the inverted globe of the sky, it's blue void animated by clouds. 

endless combinations, permutations, and variations, modulated by the sun and the moon and wind create unique scenes of fascination and beauty.

the last 48 hours has seen prototypical trade wind sailing, puffy white clouds, or no clouds at all. chute up all day into the evening as this new sailing experience with the big sail requires a bit more focus on the compass and apparent wind indicator if a bit less of a physical workout. 

like i said, a beautiful day, too bad Rob spent most of it in the engine room patiently and expertly fixing the diesel, with barely an audible expletive all day. chris extracted the broken key out of the starter, obviating the need for his hot wire kit to start the now fixed motor. this lad would make an excellent car thief. and the trifecta; william didn't have to go over the side with a stick to clear the poop hole since it inexplicably cleared. both heads now operable.  All these accomplishments led Fred to make yet another important executive decision and break out the rum to toast everything that needed toasting, including all of you. cocktails followed by a brilliant dinner by Adrian., 

whoops, i think i conflated two days here. no matter, some things consistent, some constantly  changing. we added 2 hours to the clock today to be on antigua time and it was the perfect day to do it. sunny breezy and tropically warm. hard to think it's winter in the northern hemisphere. 

a gannet (i think -TB, please look it up) made a few dives near the boat and came up with a fish each time. we've seen petrels, tern like gulls, and one or two other unidentifiables. need the bird book. 

chris got active after dinner, spreading around balloons, noisemakers (all prepared by andrea), and a lot of felicidades for peter's b'day, accompanied by a truly wretched rendition of 'happy birthday' and a great apple crumble prepared by william. the candles barely made it to the companionway hatch before peter and the 25 knot breeze blew them out. our wishes have been granted. 

this morning brought crepes to the galley, an excellent vehicle for jam and peanut butter. and rob just fixed the gas supply to the stove. a day without a minor glitch wouldn't be the same. 

this group of men has built a dynamic environment out of patience, humor, cooperation and trust. a great adventure.