Footnotes from Water Music

We are getting closer - 624.1 miles to go - that is Inverness to Lands End? just a mere hop. At 6 knots on average, that is about 4 days of sailing. The pressure is already on for us to look our best to be greeted by the girls on our arrival. The laundry maid will be in overdrive these next few days to make us look respectable - Stephen seems to have a never ending supply of new (well possibly not new, but fresh) shirts coming from his extensive wardrobe - we have not seen the Hawaiian shirt as yet, but the money is on that that will make an appearance before the trip is finished. The rest of us try to keep up with the fashion parade - I tried a new style of wearing my shirt inside out yesterday, but that soon got voted down - shame.

Morale remains very good on board - we are going well. The humour is as good as always, and the same jokes have a danger of being retold, but still accompanied by hoots of laughter - it seems a long while since we set off from Lanzarote, and clearly some dementia is beginning to set in - for four people to get on so well, in fairly restrictive space, for 3 weeks, is a tribute to our skipper and his well chosen crew. We have had a lot of fun. A large whale was spotted by Ian this morning - Stephen said it was just a very fat pilot whale, but Ian and I know that it was not - any ideas please? It was big, and had a big blow hole - surely that is enough detail to identify it? However it was a welcome sight, and he stayed near us for some time, occasionally raising his head to check us out - spectacular. We had a lot of rain last night, accompanied by good wind. The hatch in our bunk room gave way, and it soon changed from aeration to irrigation - Ian's bunk bore the brunt of it, and his sheet and duvet are now strewn across the foredeck - we thought he is setting up camp there, but he assures us that is not the case .Mending took Stephen a few minutes this morning and. as always, problem solved, and we are watertight again.

The bar remains well stocked, and the food is as good as always. Graham produced a delicious fish curry last night, with the second portion on the menu tonight - the smell when it is being heated up is amazing - maybe that is what the whale was after? My second loaf of bread was an even greater success, amazingly, and is being enjoyed. Indeed the boundaries were pushed even further with brownies being baked at the same time - fortunately the baking gods seem to take kindly to me, and now we have brownies and yoghurt for pudding - delicious.

The subject of showering has been raised and the skipper was taking his regular (weekly) shower on Monday morning - as he always does. I suppose there should be no need for such an extensive wardrobe if you only wash that rarely - but none the less. He was heard to remark that it was rather alike trying to take a shower on a packed underground train - with the pitching and yawing going on. Apparently rather difficult to stand on one leg and thoroughly wash between the toes. The crew dont have this sort of challenge as there is only room to stand bolt upright - so the risk of falling over is negligible. Lucky crew was as empathetic as the skipper could get.

So this remains a very happy boat, we trundle on merrily, with the finishing line nearly in sight. This has been a fantastic trip, and anyone tempted to do it, must do so - you see a completely unspoiled part of our planet, which mankind has barely touched - long may it remain that way.

Love to All

The merry crew on Water Music