Having set the ship’s clock back by an hour yesterday meant Elaine and Justine had an hour less of darkness on their early morning watch this morning, although the waning crescent moon provided some light through the clouds.
With stronger winds out of the northeast, we remained on our starboard tack under full headsail and enjoyed an average SOG (Speed Over Ground) in excess of 6-6.5 Kts, ensuring a Sunday arrival. This also allowed us to switch off the engine at the start of Roy and Paul’s watch.
We are, however, all counting down the number of “no sleeps” and watches we have left, so another night at sea will simply not suffice; roll on Sunday and rolling we are in the persistent conditions that have the wind, waves and swell in different directions. Throw in all the squalls that keep popping up and we’re all feeling the effects of a long, uncomfortable and tiring passage. Regardless, everyone is managing to get enough sleep, although we’re all definitely looking forward to a night of uninterrupted sleep, that’s for sure!
As usual, after making breakfast, Elaine left Roy on watch and headed to bed, surfacing around noon to the smell of freshly baked bread. Guess what everyone had for lunch! Yummy! One of the highlights of all our passages has been the fresh bread the Captain ensured we always had and this passage has been no exception.
When Elaine took over the afternoon watch, she was delighted to find that we only had 290NM to go, we were still on the starboard tack and we had enjoyed an average SOG (Speed Over Ground) for the morning of 6.5 Kts reaching 7-8 Kts in the afternoon, as the wind strengthened and weakened in bands.
Yachts were also coming out of the woodwork from every direction, popping up all over our chartplotter, given that they were now in AIS (Automatic Identification System) range of us, as we all honed in on St Lucia; the finish line was going to be rather congested it seemed!
The Captain’s music hour was enjoyed with dinner, the latter thanks to a team effort from Justine and Paul. Our evening came to a close on a high note with Paul catching another fish; this time a reasonably large wahoo. If nothing else, he’s kept us well fed on a nice variety of fish; first tuna, then mahi mahi and now wahoo. Guess what we’re having for dinner tomorrow.
Before we knew it, though, our penultimate round of watches commenced. On Elaine and Justine’s watch, given that there wasn’t a moon and we had our first somewhat clear night sky, the first in a while, we took the opportunity to do some stargazing again. There’s simply nothing like a starry night at sea! These will be missed indeed!
On other news, “Sweetiegate” fortunately didn’t turn into the bloodbath Elaine had expected, with both Roy and Paul giving up their last chocolates to their respective wives; wise men indeed!
As the finish line draws closer, so too are these logs, started on 9th January 2016, to document our circumnavigation. It’s hard to believe Elaine has been writing these for almost eight years. What’s even harder to believe is we are about to become circumnavigators; something Elaine never thought would be possible after her diagnosis in Australia. If nothing else, this circumnavigation has taught us that daring to dream, regardless of the obstacles, mixed with tenacity and determination, makes those dreams come true. 230NM to go to fulfil our dream!
