31 / 1 / 2011

POS: 22d 43.27'S, 26d 09.74W

So we've hit this meteorological phenomenon known as a high pressure cell or as the Yachties call it; "the parking lot". There is basically no wind (7 knots) & we're crawling along at 3 knots. The days of 8 knot cruising speeds & 20 knot surfs are over. Every now & then you hear an excited yelp of "Woohoo! 6 knots!" from the helm, so I suppose it's just a matter of lowering the standards. We can't race racing cars all the time. Sometimes you just gotta race snails.

The slow-down in sailing has had a corresponding effect on lifestyle. There's lots more reading going on (even by Mike) & when going really slowly like this we've discovered even the wheel does its own thing. This was realised when we caught Mr "van Helm" reading his book on watch & steering with his foot! The boat has a couple of spots crew members head for in their down time. The two most popular (aside from the cabin beds down below) have been nicknamed Club Mast & Club Lazarette respectively. These popular hangout joints attract different clientèle during different stages of the day.

Club Mast offers a beautifully secluded spot, away from other crew & usually in prime position for sunset & sunrise views. In the afternoon, wonderful shade is cast by the overhead spinnaker but sometimes the close proximity to the Heads' hatch results in interesting aromas & awkward confrontations. Being near the helm, complete with sound system & beach umbrellas, Club Lazarette is a real winner during the midday heat. Its popularity though is heavily dependent on who is the DJ on duty & though there's been little objection to sharing music time & trying different tunes, the line had to be drawn when one of Andre's play lists produced a 70 minute long "Best of the 80's Classics Medley".

Sixteen days at sea is still taking its small tolls on crew & equipment. One of the Tac-Tic instruments which give us wind speed, boat speed, wind angle etc. decided this ocean racing stuff is not for it & packed up yesterday. The other has found that simply feeding us gobledee-gook information is funnier & had everyone really confused for a while last night. Most depressing of all was the loss of one of the speakers in Club Lazarette. I'm afraid mono sound just does not do Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos justice out here.

In his relentless quest to provide delicious meals Uncle Saths managed to burn his finger. This was actually quite lucky when you consider how much of him was exposed at the time. Treatment was swift & efficient from Me2Me's young Medical Graduates; Alex & Murray. Lathering the wound in burn gel, they ingeniously covered the lot in the detached finger of a latex glove, taped up with elastoplast. I think the emotional damage from having to walk around with a large, gooey, white finger far outweighed the physical pain.

Alongside the Cape to Rio yacht race continues the quieter yet equally competitive Me2Me Beard Growing Contest. Unfortunately the blatant presence of excessive ginger hair in Murray's beard has disqualified him from the competition & word is he may be detained in quarantine at Rio. Alex's growth is, well, patchy and Mike & Andre are keeping up some stable development. Undoubtedly the tops for shear appearance thus far go to Mr Saths Moodley for his rugged "Silver Back" look. The Skipper is always clean shaven! But hey, someone has to maintain the standards!