Race 2 - Day 7
Skipper Report
22 September

Day 7: Plain sailing and flying fish

Hola from the Punta del Este boat. Today we leave the African continent behind in the direction of Cape Verde, a run of 500nm into the ocean. The wind has been shifting from N to NE in an almost timely manner, this trade winds can be so organised sometimes. This has allowed us to sail in one tack with more or less the same heading for over 24h. It has been a great opportunity for the crew to compete against each other of who is the fastest helmsman. I have to say, the level is high and it is going to improve more and more everyday.

Some of the routines on board are happening automatically. In the morning our engineer Antonio brushes his teeth and starts the generator to charge the batteries for the day. He has breakfast and turns the water-maker to fill up the water tanks. By lunch he had switched off the power making to complete the list of maintenance jobs. On deck, Bosun Nigel and his team run a sunrise and sunset deck check in search for chafe and potential issues. The galley runs round the clock preparing meals, snacks and drinks. The cleaners maintain the boat in tip-top hygienic condition and navigators checking on weather and best course to take. This and more is happening onboard clock wise 24/7 with everybody putting their weight for the success of Punta del Este.

There has been an interesting night sailing with around 30 flying fish landing on deck, Mary working with the spinnaker sheet got a little surprise when one slap her on her face. The sea is full of them and they fly away for around 20-30 meters when we cross through their path. They are everywhere! The boat smells like a fish market and we'll have to do a clean up in the morning finding flying fish in the most interesting places. It's looking like a fish breakfast for me, unfortunately the crew don't follow my passion for having fish in the morning.

Daily Stats:

Daily Run: 222nm

Tune of the day: "shingaling" by Tom Swoon

Max boat speed: 15 knots

Dolphins spotted: 80

Gybes: 0

Showers on deck: 3

Flying fish on deck: 30 (one fish slap to Mary's face)

Nautical word of the day: "Cheeky gibe"

Kind Regards

Jeronimo