Its motherwatch and so time to kick back and get an email sent!
Well the first news is.... We're in the Triangle!!!!! Oh yes we are sailing through one of the most legendary areas of ocean in the world! So far, all boats present and correct (although the sneaky Scots are in stealth!) We've headed east (north too of course) but Ourselves, Edinburgh and Yorkshire are all east on one route while the rest are heading west. Its a bit of an all or nothing move, If it works and the Atlantic weather fills in from the East we should be in a really strong position fighting between the three boats for possible podiums or we will be the last three boats (which has been our usual position!....) Who knows? all we can do is sail hard and hope for good wing so fingers crossed all!
We have had a mixed bag of conditions recently. Mainly light winds and flat seas (or with an annoying "slop" that rocks the boat uncomfortably, making the sails flog and not work well in the light wind. The weather has generally been hot! hot! hot! with 100% humidity so sweaty and unable to dry has been the case. Then we get the odd squall like the one the other day when OB decided to take a shower on deck! We had another on last night but with lots of wind so we were again heeled over but this time chilly! we made a bit of ground for a few hours but needed more for any significant difference! OB once again stripped of his shirt before the rain set in. (i did not ... no need to inflict that on anyone!) Now James has lived shirtless since Mexico (pre Panama and is quite tanned, this was OB's first foray into shirtlessness and he was as pasty as I am under the shirt prompting a temporary new nickname of "Snow B"! Bless him, he makes life on this voyage a real joy, and again I reiterate Is a Hero!
Life in general as we have passed through the Bahamas has cooled a little, just enough for people to start getting some decent sleep. With this sleep have come the infamous 'boat dreams'! Most people seem to suffer from them but especially Dave, Anna and myself (all must be a little insane I think!) But It does keep us entertained recounting the crazy world of our dreams (my last one included us overtaking a group of Polynesian canoe people in the boat then being swallowed by a giant super container ship that had been converted into a scientific research ship where everyone dressed in white! They gave us all jobs and sailed us to Southampton for race finish! As I said, insane, but we are sleeping and that is the main thing! And yes, I was a little grumpy at first when I was too tired! Thats
how I roll! I need my sleep!
The rest of boat life has been quite standard, eat, sail, try to sleep, eat sail, go to loo, eat, sail, sleep (sometimes it feels like we are doing more than one of these things at a time!! I have been barefoot since I lost my warm weather deck shoe. But my feet are loving their freedom, I dont think I have worn more than a flip flop since a few days out of San Fran, my feet are not looking forward to the constraints of footwear in NYC and beyond but the rest of me cant wait!
Oh, I did say we had not had much wildlife. well thats not exactly true.. We have not had any marine life but have had several land birds visiting us and hitching rides between islands (they never pay their way!) We have some photos so will have to try and ID them when I get back, and lots of insects! Dragon flies, big bitey looking things too, the fly spray has been out in force!! Not what we were expecting but wildlife all the same!
I will write some more tomorrow (second part of being a 'Lazy Mother!!) so for now I am going to say goodnight, Its been a busy day, breakfast serving, chicken and rice for lunch and then lasagna for
tea and in-between I managed to watch Wales win a Grand Slam against France.... Awesome!!!
Well the first news is.... We're in the Triangle!!!!! Oh yes we are sailing through one of the most legendary areas of ocean in the world! So far, all boats present and correct (although the sneaky Scots are in stealth!) We've headed east (north too of course) but Ourselves, Edinburgh and Yorkshire are all east on one route while the rest are heading west. Its a bit of an all or nothing move, If it works and the Atlantic weather fills in from the East we should be in a really strong position fighting between the three boats for possible podiums or we will be the last three boats (which has been our usual position!....) Who knows? all we can do is sail hard and hope for good wing so fingers crossed all!
We have had a mixed bag of conditions recently. Mainly light winds and flat seas (or with an annoying "slop" that rocks the boat uncomfortably, making the sails flog and not work well in the light wind. The weather has generally been hot! hot! hot! with 100% humidity so sweaty and unable to dry has been the case. Then we get the odd squall like the one the other day when OB decided to take a shower on deck! We had another on last night but with lots of wind so we were again heeled over but this time chilly! we made a bit of ground for a few hours but needed more for any significant difference! OB once again stripped of his shirt before the rain set in. (i did not ... no need to inflict that on anyone!) Now James has lived shirtless since Mexico (pre Panama and is quite tanned, this was OB's first foray into shirtlessness and he was as pasty as I am under the shirt prompting a temporary new nickname of "Snow B"! Bless him, he makes life on this voyage a real joy, and again I reiterate Is a Hero!
Life in general as we have passed through the Bahamas has cooled a little, just enough for people to start getting some decent sleep. With this sleep have come the infamous 'boat dreams'! Most people seem to suffer from them but especially Dave, Anna and myself (all must be a little insane I think!) But It does keep us entertained recounting the crazy world of our dreams (my last one included us overtaking a group of Polynesian canoe people in the boat then being swallowed by a giant super container ship that had been converted into a scientific research ship where everyone dressed in white! They gave us all jobs and sailed us to Southampton for race finish! As I said, insane, but we are sleeping and that is the main thing! And yes, I was a little grumpy at first when I was too tired! Thats
how I roll! I need my sleep!
The rest of boat life has been quite standard, eat, sail, try to sleep, eat sail, go to loo, eat, sail, sleep (sometimes it feels like we are doing more than one of these things at a time!! I have been barefoot since I lost my warm weather deck shoe. But my feet are loving their freedom, I dont think I have worn more than a flip flop since a few days out of San Fran, my feet are not looking forward to the constraints of footwear in NYC and beyond but the rest of me cant wait!
Oh, I did say we had not had much wildlife. well thats not exactly true.. We have not had any marine life but have had several land birds visiting us and hitching rides between islands (they never pay their way!) We have some photos so will have to try and ID them when I get back, and lots of insects! Dragon flies, big bitey looking things too, the fly spray has been out in force!! Not what we were expecting but wildlife all the same!
I will write some more tomorrow (second part of being a 'Lazy Mother!!) so for now I am going to say goodnight, Its been a busy day, breakfast serving, chicken and rice for lunch and then lasagna for
tea and in-between I managed to watch Wales win a Grand Slam against France.... Awesome!!!
RSS Feed