Hello all,

POS:  57*08,3 S 065*30,9 W
COG:  353
SOG:  6.2
WND:  W 7 - 8 bft

In the Drake passage. Day 4. Since the early morning we're sailing again! First on a course more East of North, but since late afternoon West of North. That was what we were longing for. The wind picked up during the day. It started with some squalls; royals down, royals up, royals down again...'t gallants down...and then during the watch handover at 8 PM the outer jib and Desmond. That left a perfect rig for this quite squally night. It was the same in daytime, but at least you can see the squalls coming. Now in the dark it feels more like a surprise. The wind-forces are not that high, but it's gusty over all. At the same time the waves gotten a bit higher, which most of the VC like, at least the ones that are not trying to sleep ;-)

In the galley they made the perfect rough weather meal, nice pasta. No spicy addition needed today. They had their hands full already to keep everything in place. The after dinner cleaning in these seas is a matter of timing and preparation. Don't put too much water in the bucket and never leave it unattended. Do either one of them and you'll find yourself dealing with a water ballet. Then it gets quite hard to hold on. You might turn into the mob sliding over the floor yourself. Luckily our crew are mega advanced in these situations. Not only acrobats on deck, but also managing the interior of the ship in acrobatic style!

Groetjes, Janke

Photo by Richard Simko