Life on board really is quite good as we make excellent progress toward the Caribbean. I am now use to the concept of a hot shower every day at sea, even though the confused Atlantic swell makes standing very difficult. However, on these super yachts they have thought of everything and a comfortable teak seat has been placed in the perfect position, enabling a hot shower whilst sitting down! Given that tomorrow is Christmas Eve it is my intention to even have a shave, now that is a first for me at sea for many years!
The Sahara sandstorm is now over and as the murky red mist lifts from around us we are treated to a superb day of sailing in ideal conditions. The sun shines, the sky is blue and the wind is blowing at a consistent 20 - 25 knots. The only slight annoyance is that it still is not from quite the right direction, which is jeopardising the likelihood of New Year celebrations ashore! Interestingly morale appears to be unaffected by this prospect and I may have yet another new experience; waking up on New Years Day without a hangover!
Whilst Sophie's imagination takes her to the days of the great explorers and likens her maiden Trans Atlantic voyage to the pioneering days of Columbus so James keeps us updated with his unusual dreams with much hilarity! So far he has been a pirate coming to blows with the weather Gods and has even found himself in a shootout with the police. Maybe his choice of DVD's has something to do with it as he was caught watching Hot Fuzz earlier. I can only assume he has also sneakily been watching Pirates of the Caribbean, though he wont admit to that!
As another day fades into darkness we are reaching the third of the way stage. We are now deep into the Atlantic and are over 700 miles West of Africa. There are just under 1800 miles to go and the forecast is still looking very good with a calm spell enabling us to celebrate Christmas in relative comfort.
Sadly the air-conditioning does not work at sea, so as the temperatures rise with every mile we progress West so the conditions in the galley become slightly more uncomfortable. You would have thought that with all this modern technology the boffins would have designed a system that works on a yacht that bucks like a bronco! So having found the sauna on board I am now looking for the jacuzzi which I am sure must be somewhere!
My big question for the day is 'is it a flock of flying fish or a shoal of flying fish?' I am confused as when they are flying and skimming across the crests of the waves surely they are a 'flock'. But when they dive under I can only assume they become a 'shoal'. Is that correct?
Anyway, that is enough of my ramblings for one day and if I go on any longer then Marianne will have a sense of humour failure when she comes on watch at midnight and has to translate! And between you and me, I am a little scared of her!
Bye for now,
James, Marianne, Philippe & Sophie
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