to east. In the next hour or so to be exact. Only about 1000nm from
Greece but we have to tack up and down to make progress, sometimes
that's the name of the game. Felix did an excellent job of preparing
supper last night. The chicken he served was numero uno. It was his
first meal to prepare and his little initiation depended on how well he
does. He passed with flying colours, so no, we won't drag him behind the
boat on a rope through the icy cold water. A lot of blue bottles as
well, so it would have been quite an initiation.
I am on the 6 to 10 watch this morning and was greeted by clear skies
and the sun rising at about 6:30. Wind blowing at 15 kts from the north
east bring a slight element of chill, and we are sailing in a south
easterly direction. Our weather report predicts that the wind will die
down a bit later and come in from the east. Then we will head back up
north again as some heavy winds are predicted for the 18th, and the
higher north we go the less the wind will be. Down at Africa winds of up
to 45 kts can be expected.
Our ETA for Greece at our present speed is 28/04,a worst case
scenario. We trust that favourable winds will meet us along the way and
cut some time for us. Only time will tell when and where. It is
difficult at night with the waxing moon to see ships, and difficult for
them to see us. Last night our stern nav light wouldn't work, making it
even more difficult for ships to see us from behind. Time to extra
vigilant on our watches. Will check the nav light later today and make
sure it works tonight.During the night we had our port and starboard nav
lights on, our steaming light and our anchor light which has a 360*
visibility.Not much else we can do but a keep a sharp eye on things.
There are dolphins playing around the boat at the moment. I just saw one
leaping completely out of the water.There seem to be a lot of dolphins
as we see them everyday and sometimes at night as well. Always a most
welcome sight, these agile creatures carving curves through the
water.Also spotted a turtle yesterday, to be expected with all the blue
bottles around as the turtles feed on them. Definitaly Short Beaked
Common Dolphins, Delphinus Delphis being the scientific name of the
particular species.
Haven't got much else to say today, all is calm out here. Our position
at AM 05:30 UTC was 37*09'N/00*12'W.More or less staright line distance
to Greece 1040nm. Temperature around 18*C. Skies filled with jet streams
from...you guessed it, jets leaving long white stripes in their wake.
Wishing you a pleasant day
Paul
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