Feb 3rd, Southern Ocean on-board Northanger

Only within the previous 24 hours I have witnessed the typical extremities of the Southern Ocean.
Last evening during the final hour of my watch I observed an open ocean sunset on a ripple-less sea. Due to the swell, I watched the sun sink beneath the waves numerous times and it was during a lull in the swell train that offered the classic spectacle of the inflamed ball dropping beyond the sea. The pastel colors canvased the sky and stars appeared in sporadic spaces.

For the first time this journey I enjoyed gazing at the Southern Cross, a constellation I grew up with. It was a scene from my homeland and I was happy to have it watch over us like a guardian.
An Albatross soared occasionally in the shadows of the recent setting sun and with it's elegant wingspan, it seemed to be painting its own constellation.

The following morning I woke up groggy from an unsettled sleep and joined Greg at the chart table. He was peering closely at the recently downloaded weather satellite image. "We're going to get kicked up the ass" he bluntly expressed and from what I could make out with the wind arrows and heavy cloud drenching the Falklands, that system was on its way to us.

And so today has been a somewhat indoors day, keeping an eye on the radar from inside the boat and checking every 15 minutes the conditions outside. Fog has closed in, the birds seem to have disappeared and we suddenly seem very alone in what is now a building sea.
Magnus who has grown up on sailboats whipped up a hearty vegetable soup which we all forced down knowing soon enough, our stomachs may not be able to take too much. The aroma of home-cooking filled the small corners of the boat and awakened me from my 'in-between watches' slumber. Yep, suddenly we were experiencing unpredictable shifts in the boat we were taking the odd wave over deck. As I write this my stomach lurches along with the boat and this soup gurgling in my stomach probably won't stick around. It's time to quit this blog update and lay flat for abit. Geee, what one does for an adventure!