Greetings to our extended Ace family from the crew:
Today begins as yesterday ended, with Ace running on a starboard tack towards Saint Lucia, now about 260 miles distant. The morning rose with the sun on a blue sky, steady winds, relatively modest rolling seas and a decent heading towards the Caribbean. It was the air, however, which dominated the setting. Warm, sweet, velvety, seductively gentle -- it offered an enticing welcome to those of us awakening for another watch shift.
The Ace of the last couple of days differs from the Ace of last week. Gone for now is the relentless muscular, ever demanding locomotive of last week, substituted by a steadier, albeit slower course towards home on an ocean that herself has tamed considerably. The ever changing scenery on this stage they call the North Atlantic is nothing if not temporary. And today's slightly hypnotic rhythms belie that darker capabilities that lurk just off-set, and which help fuel the quiet edginess that is a constant, rain or shine, flat or gusty.
Two weeks have enabled us all to shape our roles and activities into functioning routines that work. Preparing and consuming food -- three squares a day -- lie at the heart of our social world, while sailing Ace 24/7 is the hub of our work world. Tending to Ace and her systems is also a constant, a frequent function arising unannounced on a daily basis with one little thing after another -- surprising insofar as Ace's pristine quality and readiness might suggest otherwise.
From a people perspective, the surprise of the adventure is the subtle but very evident effort of all of us participants to shape ourselves into a functioning whole. Largely stripped of all the many layers of stuff with which we layer our personalities and identities in our "normal" worlds, we orient our selves -- each of us -- to the demands and responsibilities of our present --- simple and inescapable -- and simply get on with it. It is a curious blend of the serious and the light-hearted. We try to ready ourselves and Ace for whatever risks may be at hand whilst simultaneously marvel at the great good fortune that has ended each of us here, aboard Ace in late 2012, doing a crossing of the North Atlantic which has, thus far, proven both rich and forgiving. Tomorrow Saint Lucia awaits, and with it, our return.
Fondly, and with great appreciation from us all for your attentiveness and affections.
William (a.k.a. Uncle Boo Boo)