Day 16 – Sunday
Hot Ice in hot Pursuit! Well that’s the positive vibe on board now that we had 2 days of constant good sailing. We are still battling to main a direct course to Rio as there is high pressure has pushed up and there is a large dead zone directly in our path. Not having a spinnaker also prevents us heading more west. So with the current wind direction we are forced to be more North or South on either tack (direction) than we would normal have to particularly when the wind drops off. Nevertheless, we are moving and that is like a large espresso in the morning.
The weather was for the most part overcast and we had a few drops of rain.
The weather so far after the first few days has been different to what we were expecting. We thought that we would have very hot days with very high wispy cirrus clouds but for the most part it has been overcast interspersed with blue skies. We were also expect some quite heavy rain from squalls, which have not materialized as yet. We have spent the last few days trying to chase squalls we see in the distance to grab the extra wind they carry.
We have got the extra wind on occasion but not the rain.
The sea since the middle of the second week has also been particularly flat, almost like a big dam in the middle of nowhere. The moon each day is now rising an hour later and it is again very dark again, between sun set and the moon crawling its way into the sky.
Will’s Son is getting a daily make over by Mike with ideas put forward from the crew. It will be interesting what his final appearance will look like when he is handed over at the finish. It’s amazing what crafts skills are being remembered.
Warwick has taken to exercising twice a day on the fore deck. He has created a mini circuit. He wears his harness so he is not suddenly thrown from the boat on one of its unexpected lunges.
At 6pm we put on music for an hour daily and our theme song has become T- Rex and Metal Guru. So each evening we start with this song. Why one associates oneself with a song and relate it to times in our life is a mystery to me. It’s like a peg in the sand to which you can attach an event in one’s mind. The song does not even have to be liked at first but after time it becomes a favourite and immediately takes you back on a path of nostalgia. I guess this 70’s song will be the one for this trip.
Jean cooked ostrich spaghetti bolognaise with carrots for dinner.
I was on watch from 8pm to 10pm and enjoyed the night breeze in the dark night before the moon rose. Mike arrived on deck at 10pm for his shift and proceed to get into his cold weather gear. A full “fleecie” jump suit where you almost expecting him to suddenly put on a bears head or something ready for a carnival or a sporting event. He then covers this with a wind breaker suit. It was quite funny for Mark and I sitting watching him with no shirt on. To his defence sitting outside for 2 hours does get eventually quite chilly and also he has spent the last few years in the UAE.
In hot pursuit from Hot Ice……
Position: [20 07 S 11 31 W]
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