Course 280 degrees
Speed 7.6 knots
Wind East 25 knots
Distance in last 24 hours 169 miles
I don't mind admitting we are both a little bit grumpy today, the lovely afternoon yesterday gave way to a squally night and very confused seas making sleep a bit of a challenge. All night the seas have been 2 to 3 metres. At one point we had sustained winds of 33 knots with higher gusts and very heavy rain - luckily that was on Andrew's watch… he actually had to go outside last night, which he didn't like.
One of the issues with the squalls is having to close the boat up so it gets stiflingly hot; sailing down wind means we usually have a breeze flowing through the main hatch. So as a treat last night, while we were running the generator, Andrew snuck the air conditioning on in the bunk cabin before I went to bed as a surprise - pure bliss for the first hour. However, the movement on the boat was pretty fast - as our friend Andrew Boller would say 'spirited' so sleep was very broken. During the night we tried sleeping in nearly every bunk on the boat, so this morning it looked like there had been a slumber party aboard with cushions everywhere (I do have a few).
However, we heard from Blue Roger last night that their dinner ended up on the floor in the galley - that's really not fun! Also Golden Breeze had decided to skip dinner for snacks, as their food wouldn't even stay in a bowl. We are very happy with the way Askari is taking these conditions; whilst we have to be careful moving around we are still fully functioning - the Nespresso Machine has still been out every morning and last night we had delicious lamb casserole that I had made then frozen in the Canaries, for these sort of conditions.
Right, the bird Kath, is beginning to get a bit naughty; she thinks she owns the boat and just stares at us when we try and shoo her out of the cockpit (which is definitely a no bird zone). This morning she came onto the top step inside - bloody bird. Anyone got any training tips?? She appears to have taken up residence.
It was really exciting this morning to clock less than 1,000 miles to Barbados - we are really starting to believe we might get there. The day has now cheered us both up, as the clouds have now passed and we are sailing wing on winglet (our very small main sail), in 25 knots of wind on course with beautiful sunshine. The sea is still pretty big though.
About 981 to Barbados……
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| It's really quite beautiful |
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| Life jackets on today - with a bikini a good look! |
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| Bird wash! |
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| Our position with Blue Roger (Blue), Golden Breeze (Green) and Milvina (Black) - speed over ground 9.3 knots! |
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