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Well it is Thanksgiving eve and we are 2300 miles from our
destination. Current position is 22 57N and 023 04 W. Back in the TROPICS!! The
conditions are picture perfect. We are on the edge of the trade winds, getting
moderate ENE which is pushing us along nicely. As we get a bit further
south the wind should increase and give us the 140-160 mile days that we want.
Now we are doing only about 120, but not complaining. We have a pool going
on the length of this trip; Sarah is looking doubtful at 19 days and Bronwen is
currently the favorite at 23. The ride is very smooth and Margarita is
happy. We are not optimized for downwind sailing, our spinnaker is for light
winds only. (Sarah just repaired it for the third time in the Canary
Islands and we do not dare bring it out in anything but light winds again.)
So we have the jib out to port on a whisker pole and the stays'l to starboard
with the sheet running to the end of the boom, which we have way out. No
mainsail. This is a very comfortable attitude. The wind and seas are
from behind so that the apparent wind, what you feel, is very light and the boat
rises and falls nicely with the waves. Every few minutes there is a bit of
a rock and roll when Athena, the self steering device, over compensates a bit
and we go a bit sideways to the wind. After four days we are all used to
that now. This is the kind of sailing that most people think we do all the
time, but in fact we have had far too little of in the past 34,000 miles.
The
Canary Islands were an unexpected pleasure. We stopped at a little,
sparsely inhabited island up north, Graciosa, for 10 days or so. There
were about 15 other boats in the little anchorage. About 20 min walk to
town. Town was tiny and friendly. Dirt streets, very simple concrete
buildings with colorful doors and shutters. Green and blue. People very
busy with sweeping the little tiled sidewalk along their house fronts. The
main method of transport was the wheelbarrow. Very sensible. The men
and women all wore these rather bizarre looking straw hats that resembled an
inverted flower pot. A right circular cylinder at the top, like a chimney,
and a steeply sloping brim all around down to the eyes. Often with a nice
ribbon at the base of the chimney. The kids had a blast there as there
were several other kid boats. They had a few days adventure crossing the island
to drag back some of the only firewood to be had (driftwood washed up on the
north shore). It was a huge load and took 7 of them a day and a half to
retrieve, using an old spinnaker pole as a yoke. It was enough to fuel
three nights of bonfires. We then stopped for a few days at the bottom of Gran
Canaria in a great little town, Aguinguin (more or less). We had quite a
drama one day there as a single handed cruiser came in to anchor (he had all of
his limbs, but no crew), and dropped his anchor right on top of ours.
Douglas noted how bad it would be if he happened to get in trouble and then
dragged our anchor as well. Of course that is exactly what happened.
He tangled his trip line in his propeller so that he couldn't maneuver and then
drifted back towards us, dragging our anchor with him. I got onto his boat
to help him and we eventually untangled everything and we then skedadled out of
there. No damage. Next was Santa Cruz de Tenerife. A modern bustling city
with everything that one could ask for. Much more accommodating than
Gibraltar, for example. A great place with friendly, very proud and prosperous
people. We spent another ten days there, rented a car and toured the
island, spent lots of money and had a good time getting ready for our longest
passage. We went for a day-long inland road trip in a rental car, up into
the hills, into several small villages, and finally along a rainy, foggy road up
through the lower clouds. We got out along the way once we were up above the
cloud banks; it was fantastic, like a sea of white. The Spanish people are a real delight for us. They are very
willing to let us struggle along with our broken Spanish. The climate
there is fantastic, cost of living reasonable, and like all of these places,
once you get out of the touristy beaches, the people and towns are very nice.
So here we are, strolling across the Atlantic. We
travel at about 6kts normally, though we hope that will increase to more like 7
or so as we hit the stronger winds. There is plenty of company, at least
on the radio. There are several boats that we know within 400 miles or so and a
"rally" of 225(!!) boats about a day behind us. Our daily
routine is nicely established now. It revolves around sleeping and eating.
Sarah is up at 6:30 and checks into the radio nets, I get up and she naps at
about 10 am. S is back up at 1 or so as we all graze for lunch. I nap from
2-5 and then we are all awake until S gets her first sleep from 8-12. Bronwen
does her watch from 8-10 and I take over from 10-midnight. Then it is S
from 12-3, me from 3-6:30 and on and on and on. We have tried lots of
different watch schedules over the past 3 years and this one is where we have
settled. The kids do school each day. In fact I will have to remind
them that "normal" kids get Thanksgiving off tomorrow. But they
will probably do school anyway as it means one less day that they have to do it
when we can go ashore and play. The feast preparations for tomorrow will
be a bit difficult with the schedule but we will improvise. Bronwen has
committed to cooking a special dessert for us all. We certainly have a
great deal to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving, Neill and the migrating Margaritas
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