Yesterday was an interesting day regarding our encounters with
other boats in the fleet. Early morning, Liverpool appeared suddenly
off our port quarter, going much faster!
A tussle ensued, the boats came within 300-400 yards
of each other, and then Liverpool tacked off below and disappeared
again.
Then, later in the day we spied Glasgow to our left
about a mile away and slightly ahead of us. It never ceases to amaze
me that these boats are all so close together, 6 days after leaving
Cascais.
In the night, we began to make ground on Glasgow, then hoisted
our lightweight kite and sailed serenely by them! That sort of thing
really lifts the crew, especially after the rather debilitating
previous 48 hours!
Many thanks to Ros Britton. The sheets you made for the bunks are
proving to be very popular, especially as the weather is now getting
warmer. It beats sleeping on plastic any day! Well done from us
all!
Tracey continues to do wonders with the food we have available.
We expect to
run out of fruit and veg soon though.
Monday 18 November
We have now started to put on some good distances daily, and we
believe
our 'downhill' skills are beginning to show. We'll see, it's a long
way to go. The race is now reaching its tactical stage.
The sun came out today, and we all felt really lifted by it. Quite
hot sun, need the shades and t-shirts on deck. Howi just had a sea
water shower on the foredeck, and I think all the off watch will
now follow!
We have developed some water making problems, and there is the
threat of water rationing, but Stokes [Ian Baird] has worked very
hard over the last 12 hours, and I think he may have fixed it. If
he does, we have decided that since we can't reward him with a scotch
and American (his favourite) it will be a cup of tea and a biscuit
in bed tomorrow morning!
