Freebird Atlantic

No.  Not my boudoir.  The panorama last night in the sky was just incredible.  As we were eating supper there was a fabulous sunset.  The entire sky, 360 degrees around, was a continuous mound of cotton wool clouds, all tall and fluffy, and as the sun was setting, each one was a glorious pink, with an even brighter pink background.  What was so astonishing was the fact that this wonderful spectacle continued all the way round.  To the east (where the sun has not set!) the clouds became a grey/blue puffball with a dark pink background. It was magical.

We were enjoying a gastronomic dinner, of which I was quite proud, given we are now hopefully on the penultimate day of the crossing. We had crudites of mini toasts with philadelphia cheese topped with anchovies, or caviar (!), then pigeon breasts, all pink and succulent, on a bed of spinach and with ratatouille, made with the frozen artichokes I found lurking at the bottom of the freezer.  Then a little creme caramel to finish.  The dolphins came to join us,  just to round off a perfect evening.

We have had a lively night as we kept the spinnaker up all night. As the wind picked up at about midnight, we took off.  I think Freebird wants to get there.  She has been flying at between 8 and 9 knots for most of the night.  It is not conducive to sleep as we creak, lurch and roll, and I feel I have spent the night in a fairground as it is a lot more bouncy at the front of the boat where I sleep.  I am not complaining though. It is what we have been hoping for.

We really are now nearly there.  We have 270 miles to go, and hope to arrive during Thursday night.  That is if we can sail in the right direction.  Even with the spinnaker alone, we cannot sail dead downwind, which is due east and exactly where we want to go.  The optimum angle is 160 degrees off the wind, rather than 180, so currently we are heading too far south, towards Barbados rather than Antigua. (I think William is  launching a cunning plot to see the 1st test match there next week).  As soon as everyone is awake we will have to jibe the spinnaker again.  In fact we may have to furl it altogether as the wind is blowing force 5 now and it is getting very lively indeed!

As we near our destination, I thought I would tell you about our rubbish.  We feel proud that we have only filled one black sack (or wheelie bin as William calls them).  Not bad for 2.5 weeks. We have had a strict regime, with 2 bins, one for plastics, and the other using biodegradable bags for paper and food waste, which we can safely throw overboard with a clean conscience.  We have managed to minimise plastic by the use of a soda stream which makes fizzy water, lemonade and most importantly tonic water for the essential cocktail hour.  So no plastic bottles at all.  We have been drinking the water we make with the water maker, keeping it cold in the fridge and sometimes diluting it with a squash or squeezed lemon.

Although we long to arrive, we shall all be very sad when this adventure ends.