gybe

Gybing

Day 9 – Gybing already!

Hi everyone,

Beautiful morning spent lazing around.  This afternoon it was a bit cloudy and we took the pole down to check for wear and tear and then gybed.  This evening the wind has picked up and we are up to 20 plus knots.

We have participated in the SSB net, which allows us to share experiences and wind tactics. (Nigel the net controller is a bit of a legend on Casamara!) Our SSB appeared to work well today as we have problems with the net hearing us.

We have seen no other yachts, just sea and more sea. We have finished our first twenty litre wine box and on to the next. We expect to be half way tomorrow lunch time (GMT)

I am just about to go on watch and it is very dark. The moon hardly appears and sets very early. SP

Food wise, it’s been fish and more fish just recently!  As soon as Tim, our resident comic (and believe me he is funny) puts his line in the water, he comes up with something!  We have attached a photo (above left) of his most recent conquest, although he is not one of the two in the shot, out of sheer modesty! It is in fact our charismatic skipper Simon and technical wizard Iain.

The Dorado was filleted and in the pan within minutes despite the gybing. It was done with a little butter and herbs with the skin on, it doesn’t require de-scaling and the skin is in fact one of the tastiest bits.

We are all feeling replete and pretty healthy.   Supper tonight was Tortellini pasta with chorizo sausage and pesto sauce, a favorite of Paul’s, along with a little white wine!

Tomorrow is my preferred watch day, it gives me 6 daylight hours off, so I will have time to bake a cake and make some soup.  I have my beautiful wife to thank for the cake recipe I plan to do tomorrow, as she regularly does the cakes in our house and having regaled the boys about how good they are, they are all now eager to see if I too can pull it off!

We are approaching half way and the food stocks are holding up very well indeed.  We will have no problems at all with the fresh food diet we have planned for ourselves during the crossing, thanks to the vacuum packing and rotation of stock with the fridge/freezer, it all seems to be working nicely to plan.

I will talk a little more over the next few days about the integrated system my business partner Ralph originally came up with for the yacht’s galley, which started our company GN Espace five years ago.  It truly does revolutionise the way you can cater and cook whilst afloat and if interested in good food and especially safety in the galley, it is a must in my opinion for any off shore experience! JK 

I have just one question….when SP says they expect to be half way by lunchtime, does this refer to the voyage or second winebox?!

Image: Crescent Moon courtesy of El coleccionista de instantes Photostream