Hola. Warm greetings from the wild blue yonder. Yesterday afternoon the winds continued to diminish with minor spurts of rain showers. Our distance for the 24 hours was a really respectable 168 miles. We expect this to be lower again today, but we are still really happy with our overall progress.
Before sunset we saw our first whale. Not entirely sure what kind it was, as we didn't get to see it close up, but the consensus seems to be a Sperm Whale, based on our whale sighting guide. The amount of squid are decreasing, while the flying fish found on the deck in the morning is increasing.
Doug seems to be getting better - he persisted and managed to make a great dinner last night. Shelby is still hanging out in the cockpit and this morning almost made another offering to King Neptune. I think at this rate, I'll simply report if and when they are both back to normal.
My night watch last night was awesome. Yes, hard to believe this is me saying this. Who would have thought? It was 100% cloud cover, without any moon or stars peeking out, so it was the darkest and most surreal I've ever seen. I treasure these peaceful hours by hooking up the IPOD and listening to non-fiction audio books. (Yes, Gillian I'm a geek and still love learning!) Quite the motivating environment to be sponging it all up in. I"m currently listening to Sidney Poirier's book that he wrote when he was 80 years old. (Dorothy - Doug's mother, not my sister - read it and Doug said she loved it. I do too and Doug will be listening to it on his watches as well!). While listening to the IPOD I'm also knitting Kylie's endless afghan. Murray and Shorry you may recall me starting it 4 years ago while you were onboard. I bought the wool and Peter said "I didn't know you knew how to knit" and then I produced the book I also bought "how to learn how to knit in one day". Anyway, the end result is that I'm knitting these squares as we travel and each square has a story. Yesterday I was in the middle of one, when Doug shouted "there's a whale". So, yes, the quilt will have my signature style which means holes, uneven, etc. but it is made with love and lots of stories. (Yes, Kylie I miss you lots xoxoxoxox).
Today is mostly cloudy, swells are about 9 feet with 11 second intervals. Winds of about 10 knots. We'll stay on this tack the entire way as we have the benefit of the South East trade Winds. We simply trim the sails based on the wind and change the foresail when the weather warrants.
This morning Peter threw out the hook, and within a half an hour we had a 30 inch, 6 pound Dorado in the fridge for dinner. Both Doug and Peter were pretty happy campers bringing it in and Shelby watched with awe, seasickness forgotten in the thrill of the moment.
Wishing you all a great Sunday. I'll check in again tomorrow.
P.S. Fatima as I'm writing this I'm listening to Pancho & Sal - another great disc thanks!
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