What a difference a day makes!
All is calm on the good ship Victoria today.
The sun is shining, there is very little swell - just a gentle ocean roll
- and we are motoring straight towards Tonga on a course of 035, making about
6.5 knots through the water. There isn't enough wind to sail at the
moment, but there should be by this evening. We have to keep pushing
north to clear the worst of the next low which will come across the top of New
Zealand in the next couple of days.
Angus and I almost thought we were going to get six hours sleep last night. After an early supper of sausages, mashed potato and peas (all cooked in advance in a rare moment of organisation before we set off), the boys were tucked up in bed by 7.30, and Angus and I were looking with huge anticipation at a clear 12 hours of calm night-watch ahead of us. We split the time into four three-hour watches, and at 8pm on the dot his exhausted head hit the pillow. I popped up on deck, shone my head torch up at the main sail, and - joy! - noticed that two of our battens had come out at the front, were banging against the mast, and had ripped the sail cloth on the batten pockets at the front. So at 8.01pm I went to give Angus the good news. Up we went on deck, took most of the main sail down, and I spent the next three hours balanced somewhat precariously, with one foot on the "granny bar" by the mast, the other on a winch, taping the torn cloth and then forcing a huge needle and thread back and forth through the very thick, tough, sail cloth. Angus manned the rest of the boat, and Eloise, who showed no signs of stopping talking, let alone sleeping, and we finally re-hoisted the main just before 11pm. It's fair to say that our sails are quite old and have seen some action and UV in their time; they need some love and care, and the main had clearly not enjoyed it's experience the night before...
After the sail mending fiasco, we both got some really good, deep sleep, and had to wake each other to come on watch as there was no way a phone alarm was going to wake us! The sky was filled with stars and the sea was bright with phosphorescence. Despite both, it was a dark, dark night until a tiny sliver of a moon rose at around 3am.
Today Angus and George decided the conditions were good for fishing. And they were right!! Within an hour, they were hauling in a huge albacore tuna. It was so heavy I could barely lift it for my tiny part in the operation, which was looping a line around its tail to hang it upside down. Angus perched on our swim platform, over the back of the boat, hauling the line, hooking the fish, and dealing with it once on board. He then filleted the whole thing and we had seared tuna for breakfast. Delicious. We have enough in the freezer for about 10 more meals, so no need to fish any more for a day or two!
There are plenty of ongoing issues. One of our bilge pumps has decided to stop working, which is a pain as it's the one we use to clear the water that the water maker leaks into the bilge. We have four others, so don't worry, and I'm sure with a bit more time spent chasing wires and checking connections in the bilge, we'll locate the problem.
It's happy days aboard. Lunch time now, then happy hour later this afternoon, when we all tell stories and jokes and sing songs, with Angus on the English Concertina (squeeze box).
Lots of love from a happy, sun-kissed crew. xx
Angus and I almost thought we were going to get six hours sleep last night. After an early supper of sausages, mashed potato and peas (all cooked in advance in a rare moment of organisation before we set off), the boys were tucked up in bed by 7.30, and Angus and I were looking with huge anticipation at a clear 12 hours of calm night-watch ahead of us. We split the time into four three-hour watches, and at 8pm on the dot his exhausted head hit the pillow. I popped up on deck, shone my head torch up at the main sail, and - joy! - noticed that two of our battens had come out at the front, were banging against the mast, and had ripped the sail cloth on the batten pockets at the front. So at 8.01pm I went to give Angus the good news. Up we went on deck, took most of the main sail down, and I spent the next three hours balanced somewhat precariously, with one foot on the "granny bar" by the mast, the other on a winch, taping the torn cloth and then forcing a huge needle and thread back and forth through the very thick, tough, sail cloth. Angus manned the rest of the boat, and Eloise, who showed no signs of stopping talking, let alone sleeping, and we finally re-hoisted the main just before 11pm. It's fair to say that our sails are quite old and have seen some action and UV in their time; they need some love and care, and the main had clearly not enjoyed it's experience the night before...
After the sail mending fiasco, we both got some really good, deep sleep, and had to wake each other to come on watch as there was no way a phone alarm was going to wake us! The sky was filled with stars and the sea was bright with phosphorescence. Despite both, it was a dark, dark night until a tiny sliver of a moon rose at around 3am.
Today Angus and George decided the conditions were good for fishing. And they were right!! Within an hour, they were hauling in a huge albacore tuna. It was so heavy I could barely lift it for my tiny part in the operation, which was looping a line around its tail to hang it upside down. Angus perched on our swim platform, over the back of the boat, hauling the line, hooking the fish, and dealing with it once on board. He then filleted the whole thing and we had seared tuna for breakfast. Delicious. We have enough in the freezer for about 10 more meals, so no need to fish any more for a day or two!
There are plenty of ongoing issues. One of our bilge pumps has decided to stop working, which is a pain as it's the one we use to clear the water that the water maker leaks into the bilge. We have four others, so don't worry, and I'm sure with a bit more time spent chasing wires and checking connections in the bilge, we'll locate the problem.
It's happy days aboard. Lunch time now, then happy hour later this afternoon, when we all tell stories and jokes and sing songs, with Angus on the English Concertina (squeeze box).
Lots of love from a happy, sun-kissed crew. xx
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