Sherryl
11/24/2011, North Atlantic

I suppose one can compare it to the Kruger Park. You are supposed to see the big five. For me, that's not always the highlight. I prefer the less obvious treats that the universe puts before my eyes.

Paddy and I were sitting in the shade of the genniker this morning and suddenly we saw something swimming next to our hull. As we looked more closely, we saw a beautiful shade of lavender, just underneath the water. There were about six skipjacks ( Bonita ) swimming with chez patrick. They tried their little hearts out to out perform the dolphin!!! They swam and turned and every so often jumped up high into the air. It was one of the most beautiful moments of the crossing for me. I was very grateful that when we caught one the other day, we set it free!!!!!!! They have a sweet, joyful, happy, playful energy. Time is obviously not an issue for them because they stayed with us a very long time and still pop up next to the boat every now and then!!! They clearly love the boat at high speed because we were doing about 10kts with the genni up and they just loved playing next to the bows.

It's now Gary's turn to sit up front, in the shade of the genni, as Paddy is now on shift. As previously stated, he is Mr S Potter but luckily he is strumming his guitar, so hopefully I can spot something for a change:-)

Paddy & I had a serious laundy morning earlier!!! I wish his former work friends could have been little flies on the wall. They would have laughed so hard at Mr Washerwoman!!! He had a whole system going. First one basin with the Vanish in it. Then onto the deck with the bar of Sunlight soap and deck scrubbing brush. Freshwater deckwash hosepipe next, to get all the soap out and then the final "wringing out" just like his mom taught him to do!!!!!!! Back to the cockpit washing lines and pegs et voila!!!! chez patrick has a fresh load of white bed linen, streaming out from her rear end:-) So,..............he's not just a pretty face:-) A systems man, remains a systems man!!!!!!!!

I had a wave situation earlier this morning. A few drops of water, on my legs, woke me up. This was nothing, compared to the whooosh that accompanied it. A rogue wave had slapped the hull and swept over the deck and landed, full tilt, into our cabin!!!!!!! Everything was wet. I was VERY unsporting and promptly told Pat, under my breath, that I was gatvol gekross. He said, pardon? I said, nothing:-) When he came back from his 3am shift a little later, he said something about perseverance:-) He'd heard exactly what I'd said earlier but pretended he had'nt. A girl has got to work for her diamond. With those words still ringing in my ears, I set about the fun task of drying up our cabin!! My whole make up drawer was underwater. O well, luckily Paris is only one month away and Sephora is just around the corner from B's new Parissienne appartement. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

As it is a little tricky to add photos at sea, we will add a gallery and video in Grenada. Lots of love to all of you reading my blog Thank you!!!!!!

A la prochaine xxxxxxxxxxx

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Sherryl
11/23/2011, doldrums(almost!)

Bonjour, from the Northern Hemisphere!!

This morning, just after 5am, Gary popped his head into our cabin and said that we were almost ready to cross the equator!! Patrice & I jumped up and headed outside, to be greeted by the most beautiful dawn. There was a tiny sliver of silver moon, just above a soft, pink marshmallow cloud!!

Chez patrick was very quickly down to her bare poles but with the home run ahead of her and the smell of Grenada in her nostrils, she refused to paddle any slower than 3kts!!!!! This calls for the class of Mark Spitz swimmer!!!!! Paddy, wisely went off the back where the safety rope was attached but Rambo launched himself off the front of the boat and whizzed his way to the back, through the hulls, a la Anthony!!! I proclaimed myself the official photographer, so will post pics asap!! Thus, I can very proudly say, my two boys swam their way across the equator, with the sea being a very civilized 33.2 degrees!!!!

Shortly after the equator swim, Gary spotted ( yes, Mr S Potter again!!!!! ) what looked like a giant UFO on our port side. As we looked more closely, we saw a pod of about 60 dolphin, all packed together, jumping up high into the air, just to dive down and resurface again!! It was an incredible sight and we could only assume they were on a serious fishing manoeuvre.

As I type, the winds have all but disappeared and we are motoring on our port engine. We have hardly used the engines at all, on the trip so far. The entire crew agree, that rags are the way forward!!

It is incredibly hot and humid at the moment and we still have 2 Fortaleza flies on board that are about to be doomed!! Pallas Athena ( my stunning, white orchid for those who don't know ) is thriving!! She is still covered in the largest, white blooms that I have ever seen! There are 3 buds still left to open and I am eternally grateful to Paddy for his perfect " rigging " job because her three branches would not have coped with the weight of her blooms and chez patrick's bucking bronco antics. I think that the crew are looking forward to the first sight of Prickly Bay, our Grenada anchorage. The home made ice cream in Fortaleza, spoiled us!!! Rock hard vanilla with fresh pineapple chunks!!!! yum, yum, yum!!!!

I'm off to put a bottle of Moreson Solitaire onto the ice for our equator crossing celebration tonight, so....

Lots of love to you all and

A la prochaine xxxxxxxxxx

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Sherryl
11/22/2011, Off the Brazilian coast

And to think, that we very nearly missed it!!!

After leaving St Helena, we had some calm days ( about 2 in total I think! ), and then some seriously big swells and choppy seas, coupled with good winds. This took a fair whack out of our little bodies!!! But then, finally, the sea and the swell and the current decided to work together and we had some seriously kodak moment days!!!!

Those were the days, when we broke out our rimflow, wave pool or baked quiche lorraine etc etc. It was also about the time, when we thought of going straight to Grenada, without stopping in Fortaleza. Everybodys sea legs were good and all was peachy aboard the good ship chez patrick.

Luckily, Gary decided he suddenly had a craving for fresh limes in his Bombay Sapphire and I really wanted a pair of Havaianas from their land of birth, Brazil!!!! With these two urgent needs at the top of our “to do” list, we pulled into the Marina Park Hotels marina.

Quite different from the Cape Grace marina, I might add!!!!!! Steel jettys in a boiling hot sun, that move like a serpent on a mission. You have to look sharp and jump like an Olympic athlete, each time you get on or off the boat. Steel bollards, just waiting to break toes or graunch your shins!!!! We all managed remarkably well though, with no IOD’s documented.

After tying up, Pat and I walked to the hotel’s reception area and shortly thereafter, I was happily sitting in the air conditioned salon, having a french manicure and pedicure!!!!! Who could ever believe that luck and service!!!!!! Without speaking a single word of Portuguese and them not speaking a single word of English, we bonded instantly.

It was a very good introduction to Fortaleza and she never disappointed, even once!!

The people are warm and friendly, kind and patient. I just wished I could speak some Portuguese though!!! Luckily, some words are fairly close to French, but others ..........not!!!

On Saturday evening, Gary found us the “in spot” to go to for drinks and dinner. It was utterly amazing. Clearly all the Fortaleza who’s who were there!!!! Then the menu’s came. Yup, you guessed it. No English!!!! Finally, the waiter called the receptionist to help us. We were all expecting a slim little Brazillian girl to translate for us. Instead, we got a strapping, hot looking, bouncer style guy!!! Every time his English failed him ( which was almost all the time ) He would then break out typical Latin moves. Hands up in the air, smack his forehead, kiss his fingertips.... too adorable!!!!!!! Regardless, we managed to order the MOST delicious meal!!!!! We will most certainly be back!!!!! Remember to put Fiteiro’s on your to do list in Fortaleza.

Ok, now for more serious stuff. The shopping. It is super charged fun. There is a cobbled street, with little boutiques lining each side, packed with goodies! Brazillian bikinis, havaianas, clothes, shoes, bags, you name it!!!!!!! Paddy was a complete and total angel. He came along in the taxi with me and then sat uncomplainingly and patiently, while I shopped in 40 degree heat. He carried parcel after parcel and even pointed out items in shop windows to me!!!!! Does anybody recognize this man?????? I must add though, that we only left the marina at 2:30 and the shops were closing at 4:00 so we had some serious damage to do, in very little time. As we all know, Paddy loves a deadline, so he asked me what I wanted to shop, and was eagle eyed about finding all the items, in record time. We were back in the taxi at exactly five to four!!! I am now the proud owner of some cute Fortaleza fashion:-)

What a pity that we had to leave on Monday morning. I could happily have stayed on for another week. The hotel has a gorgeous pool and bar area, very close to the boat and a lovely little beach, also right next to the mooring, so it was a tiny slice of paradise for me.

Setting sail yesterday morning, was NO joke. As soon as we were out of the marina, the chop and wind took over again and I was almost man down for the whole day!!! Our portlight and hatch were slightly open and we got huge waves popping in to say hello. Not good. As I type, we are sailing along at a cracking pace, with the current helping us along too. Gary and I think that we are about to break the Fortaleza/Grenada speed record.

Paddy and Gary have been art directing our one little headsail. I’m all for self expression and so thought this was a good idea!! Once it’s all coloured in, i’ll post a pic!!!!!

Ok, that’s all for now. Remember, to load all sorts of foreign language dictionaries onto your iphones. You never know when you’ll next need to speak another language. I’m brushing up on my Cuban.

A la prochaine xxxxxxxxx

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Sherryl
11/16/2011, South Atlantic

Tomorrow, is exactly one month that we have been at sea.

We are 139nm from our waypoint off the Brazillian coast. The weather grows more balmy by the day and the seas are becoming warmer and bluer, if thats at all possible . It's very humid and the most one can wear is an eeny, weeny bikini.

Paddy came off his 3am shift this morning and was still sleeping soundly when the heat drove me out of our cabin and into the galley. I was missing my mom and so made her famous scone recipe. They were award winning, teamed with St Dalfour strawberry jam and whipped cream. John and I instantly devoured two each, safely leaving enough over for Patrice and Gary. Luckily, John went up to check at the helm again just then, spotting a pod of dolphins at our bows.

I cannot even begin to describe the show that they then proceeded to put on for us!! They jumped up high into the air. They did cross-overs. Then, the one turned around, as if to have a good look at us!!!!!!!!!!!!!! John and I clapped and whistled and waved at them. The more we congratulated them on their slick moves, the more moves they seemed to pull!! They stayed with us for ages. Neither of us was prepared to leave them and run for the camera. Sorry, I so wish we could have shared some pics with you. When I bent down over the trampoline, I felt as though I could almost touch them. It was way beyond amazing! You could see their eyes soooo clearly and they looked joyful and free. Slowly, they left the boat, one by one. Mr Big came back for one final flourish and rollover!!!! I felt him saying to us: Brazil welcomes you!!!!!!!!!!!!

After all those scones and cream and strawberry jam, I need to swim a few calories off, so its off to my onboard pool now!! Paddy will stand by with the camera, so I can post a pic of this momentous event!!

I can safely say that I have just about completed my very first South Atlantic crossing. I'm not sure who is more delighted that I actually made it, Paddy or me!!?? There were times when I seriously regretted le petit patrick staying behind in Cape Grace Marina, as I wanted to abandon skip and head home, excepting, I didnt know where home was anymore, so decided to hang in there:-) And boy oh boy, was I glad this morning after the dolphin display!! C'etait incroyable!!!

Well, baby porker is off to her pool now, Lots of love to each and every one of you, reading this blog.

A la prochaine xxxxxxxxxxxx

ps: I hope you saw the photo of Pat trying to use me as live bait. Have you EVER seen him looking this young, happy, carefree and relaxed!!??

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Sherryl
11/15/2011, 200 miles from the Brazilian Coast

This story was not going to be told. it was to remain in the bilges of chez patrick until it ended up in a dumpster somewhere in the windward islands!! Paddy asked me yesterday, if I was blogging about it and I said no, so he said that he thought I should, so... on y va, here goes,

Provisioning a yacht, for a south Atlantic crossing, with 4 people on board, was becoming a more daunting task for me, with each passing day. I mean, do you have any idea, how many toilet rolls you use in a week? Or how many rusks you eat in a day and how many tea bags you use in a day. Really, with the Waterfront a ten minute walk away from the yacht, I would just trundle over as I needed to, over the past years and pop into pick & pay, ww or nespresso store and collect what we needed.

Not happening in the middle of the big, blue ocean, I was told. So, armed with a provisioning list from JT & one that I had drawn up for myself, I headed to constantia village in my trusty Land Rover!!

I shopped and shopped, until even I was sick of shopping. I was extremely grateful for my lists because one gets a little punchdrunk after the sixth trolley. John has provisioned countless yachts, so his lists were a lifesaver and kept me calm during the moments when I had no idea what to buy next, nor how many of them I should buy!! Some things, that I considered, radio active, I could simply not force my arm to pull off the shelf and drop into my trolley........oros was one!!

Anyway, the shopping continued and the departure date loomed closer and closer. The nice man in charge of the pick & pay finally had pity on me and came over and said to me, that I must please call him ahead of time with my list and he would get it al ready f or me!!!!! Great!! This was my very last pick & pay shop!! Why had I not thought of that sooner??

Seriously nice Congolese men, would then help me push my trolleys to the Land Rover & pack all the packets with perfect French precision into the boot, back seat and floor, all the while, speaking beautiful French to me. Made every trolley shopped, worthwhile!!!!

Then, back to the boat. Every parcel had to be carried a fair distance, onto the boat and wait to be packed away. This is where Gary Genius took over. He was unbelievable and No, he is NOT for hire.

He sat down with his computer and methodically and systematically, listed each & every item bought, what it weighed and then exactly where it was stowed on t he boat, with a diagram of the boat, for easy reference!!! So, we knew exactly where say the sundried tomatoes were packed away, how many packets we had bought plus exactly how much they weighed!!!! At the end of all this, he totalled up the weight of the provisions!!! Not pretty!!! Paddys wallet could have told us this already!!!!!!!! 400kilograms worth!!!!!!! Poor chez patrick was lying low in the water already and this was without the extra diesel drums on board.

Currently, we are about two weeks from our destination in Prickly Bay, Grenada. My guess, is that we probably still have about 350 kilograms on board!!!!!! Not joking!!!! And we have been going for over four weeks already!!

I had heard, from very reliable sources, that one always loses weight on an Atlantic crossing. My motivation for doing it, of course!!!!!! Not on this ship, skippy!!!!! I think that we are going to be the only crew, in living history, to roll off the yacht, at our final destination, as little porkers!!

Oh well, now you all know.

We will slowly but surely, work our way through all the tins and cans and packets and boxes. We will be very disciplined and buy nothing, until chez patrick floats properly again!! ( yeah right!!!!!) I definitely did my bit for the SA economy, especially P&P and WW. Nespresso too!! Now, its the turn of the windward islands though. Here, we are talking mango ice cream and rum cocktails !

Lots of love to all of you from this little porker,

A la prochaine xxxxxxx

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Sherryl
11/14/2011, south atlantic

i really find it hard to believe that today, four weeks ago, we pulled aboard our mooring lines and motored out of our mooring at the Cape Grace Marina in Cape Town.

But it is true. In a way, it feels as though we have been aboard chez patrick forever, in another way, it feels like only a few weeks have passed by!!

Luderitz is only a distant memory already and St Helena, the same.

chez patrick is the MOST unbelievable yacht!!!! She has tackled swells, rough seas and high winds like a bucking bronco on steroids!!!! A few nights ago, I lay awake and listened to all the sounds. At one point I really thought that she was going to crack in half but all she did, was lift her tail a little higher and skip gracefully over the next swell!! I have always loved and trusted her but now I have a deep respect for her courage and truth. Deep down I feel peaceful that she will never let us down, after all, her honour is at stake!!!!!

Paddy is as busy as ever!! He had a day or two when he took his foot off the pedal. It was not to last very long though. I think that deep down I knew that anyway!!

He has been getting to know every system, part and nook and cranny aboard. He studies the manuals, gets on the blower when need be and still does his shift work too, Gary is hilarious!! He says that as soon as Paddy has got this yacht taped, he is going to sell her, buy another one and start all over again!!!

Gary and Paddy make the most unbelievable team on board. One mechanical engineer and one electronic engineer and on y va!!!! Gary is kind and patient and intelligent and helpful, with a huge sense of humor to boot, so keeps Paddy and myself VERY happy at all times!! They are always pondering over amps and currents and other such stuff!!!!! Gary is also Mr Eagle Eyes as he spots everything first!! Pilot whales, a beautiful pink buoy on poppy day, more pilot whales and huuuuuge cargo carriers!!!

We are currently on the lookout for any Volvo yachts as there is a tiny chance that we might spot one. Hopefully, we will be on the Brazillian coast in 3 days time and this makes us hope that we might see one of them coming down towards Cape Town!

Yesterday, Paddy was on watch and we saw that a tanker of over 1000ft was on a collision course with us. At that stage he was about 38nm away from us. As we got a little closer, he decided to radio Maersk Neptune and state our position. After all, we ARE 46ft and he was 1046ft - did he know we were out there heh heh!!!!!!! Paddy hopped on the blower and did his most professional bravo, bravo thing ( i was so proud! ) Instantly, this crystal clear, friendly voice responded, assuring us that yes, he confirmed our course and would therefor alter his course for us!!!! He then wished us happy and safe sailing. We were thrilled. About 40 minutes later, we passed port to port. It was thrilling!! chez pat felt just a liiiittle cocky for making a huuuuge tanker move over for her!!

This evening is pizza evening and we are trying to decided whose recipe to follow. Jamie Oliver, B's or Carluccio's. So far, all B's recipes have been award winners, so we might just stick with hers!!

The sea temp is currently 31.2 degrees and we are not even at the equator yet. Time to break out my onboard swimming pool. We will take pics so you can all share this momentous occasion with us!! Reminds me, we need a bottle of bubbly to celebrate this, so I need to run and dive into the bilges and retrieve one!!!

I sincerely wish that each and every one of you reading this blog, could experience what I am experiencing right now. Yes, there are many times when I wish I was safely back on land but when all is said and done, i would not have missed this for the world. It is a privilege and an honor and I am sincerely grateful to be a part of this Atlantic crossing team!!!

Special love to all of you reading this, A la prochaine xxxxxxx

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