14:42.78N 68:00.00E
Bryan writes...
The first few days out from the Maldives found us (after the first twenty four hours) not only in bumpy seas, but also with the wind on our nose. This had us sailing or motor sailing close hauled and heading in ‘not quite the right direction’. The seas have calmed down and we’ve had a fairly steady breeze over the last three or four days, and even better, it’s swung around to the west and so we can head exactly where we want to go. We have also made an improvised fix to the fore sail roller furler and so (touch wood..) things are looking good.
Our routine has become established. We split the night watch between us into three three hour shifts. We don’t keep a watch roster during the day but take turns between naps, watching DVDs, reading, or talking rubbish. I’m on a personal mission to get through the thick wallet of DVDs Joff brought across and am happy to report good progress.
The roles are also now established. Joff is now “chef” (or “mum” depending on whether he’s already prepared lunch), Nik is “the butcher” (after his heroic efforts on the first tuna caught with a blunt knife), and I have been, errr, ‘promoted’ to “steward”, responsible for the preparation of the daily sun-downer drink.
It can be a little depressing watching our progress on the chart plotter- travelling 1,500 miles at jogging pace doesn’t make for exciting viewing. We usually see only one or two ships a day, and we are still too far south (I think) to be under the main airplane routes. However, the “DTW” (distance to waypoint) is counting down, and each night the Ramadan moon gets a little slimmer, and risers a little later. We should arrive in Fujairah on the new moon.
We should pass the halfway point tomorrow afternoon, and so have a bottle of champagne on ice to celebrate, and boost the morale for the remainder of this long passage.
