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Champagne sailing

October 17 2008

Day 7 and I have too much to tell you so we will have to leave some of it for next time. We are smoking down the West African coast. Every time I wake up for a watch, it is with excitement because we’re in for another 4 hours of sailing that most people would never experience. 20-25 knots of wind and boat speed with full size spinnaker up, short sharp seas and it gets better...... its warm.

Life on board has settled in nicely. It’s taken until now for everyone to recover from the seriously stressful passage out of the Med and the guys are no longer sleeping through the full off watch.  I have just been told that we covered around 470 miles through the water in the last 24 hours. Taking in a few gybes and that still leaves an impressive 24-hour run.

We have already started experimenting with food packages to add some variation. Last night’s dinner was a mix of two meals that was better served in the dark? I made the mistake of looking at it with my torch on. Not so flash, but it sure tasted good.

I am seriously impressed by the humour on the boat. With all the different nationalities, there is always someone ready to take the piss at any opportunity.  Conversation on deck has already turned to Cape Town. Cam and I are lucky enough to live there, so everyone is asking all the good questions. What’s it like? Where can I go for some time away? What are the girls like? (Single guys) What’s the name of the local beer? I have started using one reply for everything. You won’t be disappointed!! And with that, I have to go on watch.