Race 2 - Day 7
Skipper Report
22 September

Crossed the Tropic of Cancer today. Properly into the trade winds now.

Tonight was our turn to be pelted by flying fish and as I write we have collected a bucket full of the best specimens. We have put a little bit of water in the bottom of the bucket to keep them from drying out and going hard before sunrise, when I will clean them and gut them. Fried in garlic butter with a sprinkle of lemon and Tabasco sauce on fresh bread, they make a wonderful breakfast. The are quite smelly and bony but taste something like sardines.

Running as deep as we can go, in very pleasant conditions; while it is easy and enjoyable, it does make for some pretty boring logbook entries over the last 24 hours:

Great gybe. Bread in oven. Gybe in process. Tasty cinnamon and raisin bread. Gybed. Gybe. Gybe. Gybe. Seattle 34.86 miles ahead. Seattle 35.53 miles ahead. Seattle 34.27 miles ahead. (These figures were rather surprisingly from the AIS and not from the 6 hourly reports that we receive from the Race Office). Flying fish on deck. Wind picking up. Gybe. Gybe. Flying fish on deck...

Seems we did a lot of gybing in the last 24 hours. The team is getting pretty good at it!

Robbie Worthington, Callum Leach and David Fortune are still doing the bulk of the helming, especially at night, but during the day we try to rotate some of the other team members in to build up a bit of experience in that department.

We broke away from WTC Logistics and GoToBermuda some time ago and they are now so far away that they only show up intermittently on AIS. Eventually we will have to gybe again which will allow them to creep up once more. At present the closest target I can see on the AIS is the 180m long tanker, Errina, bound for Lome in Togo. She is nearly 50 miles away.

Just heard another bang on the deck, above my head, followed by some flapping and laughter from the crew. Another big flying fish to add to the bucket.

Cheers

Nick