22 43.9N 021 22.1W
As we are hurtling along at between ten and fifteen knots towards the Caribbean the big subject today has been the customary sweep stake for our arrival time. Christmas day is just four days away so what we are certain of is that we shall be celebrating the festivities at sea this year. For the past twelve hours the GPS has been giving an ETA of between the 5th January next year and late on the 29th December! Our onboard guesses optimistically range at between 1700 and 2355 on New Years Eve!
Please let me take this opportunity to introduce myself, as most of you reading this probably do not know me. I am Philippe and am enjoying my time on SY Ivanka as part of the delivery team sailing with James and Marianne to the Caribbean. I say 'enjoying my time' as that is exactly the situation here. I am more accustomed to spending my time at sea on race yachts where conditions are somewhat spartan to say the least, where comfort does not enter the Richter scale and where a piece of dried fruit would be a most welcome break from the monotony of boil in the bag food and dried pasta!
Almost all of my offshore miles of the last ten years have been racing at extreme levels of intensity where a watch system comes into effect if you are lucky and the manual pump saltwater heads (toilet) may function on one tack and only on a good day. Little creature comforts that are taken for granted, like a simple piece of toast with butter and jam, is something to look forward to once the race is over! If sleep is possible then a damp sleeping bag on top of a sodden sail would be considered a luxury!
I am always keen to take on new adventures and try new things, travelling is a passion of mine and something that continually enriches my life. For the next few months I am going to explore the Caribbean with Sophie, my fiancé, who is also on SY Ivanka with us, making up a team of four to sail this luxury yacht across the Atlantic. When James called me and asked if I wanted to join him for this adventure I jumped at the opportunity.
Sat on the sofa in the saloon, looking out of the windows at the spectacular view as the sun sets over the Atlantic rolling swell, I find myself comparing this passage to what I am used to. We have just finished dinner which consisted of fresh chicken, butternut squash, fresh tomatoes, chillies, white wine vinegar, pine kernels, olive oil and fresh basil all cooked from scratch in a galley which is not much smaller than my kitchen at home! On day three of an offshore race it would have been a boil in the bag curry with the rice tipped into the bag. The delicacy would have been eaten on the rail (on deck on the windward side) whilst trying to dodge every wave that stubbornly tries to deposit a further helping of salt!
What occurred to me as I was extracting the fresh produce from the fridge, that is jam packed with food, is that when the fridge runs out of food we will move onto the second fridge and once all that has gone then one of the two freezers will keep us going with food that is fit for a restaurant in Notting Hill! As I watch Venus appear in the night sky, whilst still sat in the warmth of the saloon, Sophie is preparing me a cappuccino in the top notch nesspresso machine, with real frothy milk and sweetened with a lump of brown sugar! Oh how times have dramatically changed for me in such a short space of time.
This afternoons highlight for me was the obligatory day three shower! As I was rummaging around for the baby wipes, my normal method of hygiene at sea, I remembered that my bottle of Lynx shower gel would be more appropriate on SY Ivanka! This vessel has three en suite bedrooms with real showers and hot running water upon demand! The toilet even has buttons to operate it, one to flush water in before use and one to flush all contents out after use!
Realising how pleasant a shower can be at sea I am sure I shall be exploring the possibility of more frequent visits for the remainder of the voyage, I may even treat myself to a shave. I was recently sailing on a friends racing trimaran in the South Agean sea where the toilet was just a hole in the hull with a toilet seat mounted on it! At least there was no chance of a blockage and a bidet took on a whole new meaning!
I think you get my drift now, sailing across the Atlantic on a super yacht is somewhat civilised and I am quite enjoying the experience. Having time to relax at sea and contemplate life, without any of the pressures of the hectic world we live in, is one of the best parts of spending time at sea like this. Enjoying many of the creature comforts of home is something I am not accustomed to; but you know what? it isn't all that bad! In fact, some people would pay good money for it!
Now all we need to do is make sure we are in by New Year as Marianne has expressed concern by the capacity of the fridges and freezers to keep the quality going much beyond that! Failing that we have a fishing rod mounted on the transom waiting for action and all the ingredients in the larder that are required to bake fresh bread!
Soon my day shall be over and I will be retiring to my double bed in the aft cabin to snuggle up under a clean duvet whilst placing my head on the pillow for a good night sleep (well at let for my 4 hour off watch anyway!). So it is good night from SY Ivanka for another day.
James, Marianne, Philippe & Sophie
Goedenavond,
Ik wordt net wakker voor mijn 22.00 - 0200 wacht en ontvang het dagelijkse blog, deze keer geschreven door Philippe, om te vertalen. Nu had ik natuurlijk van alles kunnen verwachten, want Philippe is in zijn dagelijks leven, naast wedstrijdzeiler, ook schrijver voor zeilbladen. Zijn verhaal hierboven is echt superleuk, maar iets te lang voor mij om op deze wacht te vertalen..! Ik ga er voor dit blog dus maar even van uit dat jullie het verhaal meestal toch al in het Engels lezen & alleen maar lachen om mijn taalgebruik in het Nederlands.. ;)
Zoals Philippe al zei, zeilen we vandaag echt super mooi onder Genoa & grootzeil op een koers bijna direct naar 't Caribisch gebied. We verwachten minder wind tijdens de kerstdagen, maar dat geeft niet, want dan is het ook iets rustiger & makkelijker eten te koken voor kerst!
Veel liefs,
James, Marianne, Philippe & Sophie
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