Day 12. Cruising

 I wish I could say that we were cruising with SPEED but sadly, although contradictorally  enjoyably so, we are cruising in the pleasure boat sense!!


We have continued a steady but very slow 5-6 knots, grinding our way gradually nearer to Grenada (1174 miles) but also gradually further South too into warm tropical weather, trying  to find the higher trade winds. At least we have a knot of tide too!

The warmth is confusing at night on deck; it seems difficult to get the clothing right when sitting for 4 hours! And it is a bit sticky down below, certainly T shirt only in bunk, or less, but not yet unpleasantly hot, other than in full sun at midday, but our UV protection gear works well and we all strive to maintain our hydration.

We have lots of spare fresh water, so off loaded some of its weight by having very welcome, on deck, cold showers yesterday!! Felt great to be clean again with fluffy non itchy hair! And, of course, all good fun. Followed by lovely 'me time' sitting in the shade of the spinnaker during my off watch afterwards, rather than resting/sleeping on bunk. Sleep requirement has certainly fallen with non-taxing sailing and a routine. The ocean was a beautiful clean blue, yet devoid of visible wildlife , during the hour I had there with my undisturbed calm thinking and listening to music.

We also had our half way party on day 10 with delicious lemon cup cakes and silly party hats.

We have had a few flying fish on board, and I have seen just a handful at sea. Also some black birds with thin long wings and very sleek bodies. They tend to circle the boat for an inspection then fly on.

We have been using an app to find the planets, (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn), Mars being obviously red plus many stars. We lose Polaris (North Star) late in the night, but can find the Southern Cross which is not visible from the UK. The Milky Way can be very clear, and we see the International Space Station flying past frequently. At least I now know more of Orion and his sword and slain bear!!

Until next time..... Fair (and stronger) winds!


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