Coral IV - Not much to report...

Not much to report today; the boat is running fast before the trades and we
haven’t changed a sail or even touched a sheet in hours. The night watches
have been marked out by those who have been unfortunate enough to get
absolutely soaked by tropical squalls and those who have managed to avoid
them – namely me. Every time I came off watch it immediately bucketed down
with rain, leaving the watchkeeper sodden and rather gloomy, while I had
happily stood my watch in shorts and t shirt.

The miles are ticking away nicely now and at the current rate we will be in
St Lucia in five days. This is a manageable period of time compared to the
vast ocean of time that 21 days seemed at the start of this trip. Ivory has
been Kock today and has battled bravely with the extreme humidity. Steiner
valiantly waded into help her, which I thought was rather noble, until I
realised he is doing anything he can to use up the fish we have so that he
is allowed to catch another one. Not sure that Ivory envisioned fried fish
to be part of her pasta surprise, but any help is always appreciated when
trying to cook in a room that is not unlike a flight simulator.

Being aboard is rather like being in a giant greenhouse with a sprinkler
system that goes off rather erratically. You cant keep anything dry and
everyone sweats profusely. Lovely. The skies are grey and monotonous at the
moment and if it weren’t for the sweltering humidity, I’d swear we were in
the North Sea at present.

Ivory and I have been amusing ourselves today by reading each other short
ghost stories. This pastime came to an abrupt halt when we came across a
rather terrifying story about a mad Swedish count. It was all a bit close to
home, and we are now treating Carl with distance and suspicion. Many thanks
for the e mail from my parents, who may well be the only readers of this
blog; it’s very odd to receive an e mail at sea and imagine life going on as
normal at home. I would reply, but I think it’s best to reply via this blog.
Enjoy the cold snap!

//Sam