With the dawn comes sunshine.....

Having been struggling to stay awake at the wheel (tiller actually!) last night I decide to drop the spinnaker over night and get some rest. Having cooked up some freeze dried (couldn't be bothered to cook) and got to bed. Sleep took a long tie to come, I was laying in bed unable to drop off, 'over tired' someone once called it. Every 20 minutes I popped on deck to check on things and had my collision alarm turned up full just in case I did manage some Zed's. I repeated the same routine time and time again, set alarm for 20 minutes, close eyes, open eyes and check screen for collision threats, close eyes, open eyes and check alarm volume, close eyes, get too hot, take a layer off, get too cold......... and so it went on. However as the night went on and all seemed quite i eventually slept, normally for 2 or 3 minutes at a time but it was sleep. Eventually it was for a whole 20 minute block, the again and again. Success!!

 

Early this morning I took the decision to hoist the spinnaker again to try and at least stay in the race, and so with the prep done and 20 kts breeze the hoist went well, the spinnaker filled and the boat found its missing gear once again. So far I have seen 25kts of wind and had the boat surfing at 17 kts. The surfer's amongst you will understand this.... When you paddle into a wave and you get to pop up point and look down realising the wave is the biggest you have ever dropped into (no matter how big that is) and a voice in you head says something along the lines of holy mother Mary! Imaging that then turn the board into a 35ft Boat, and put yourself into the middle of the Atlantic ocean on your own! I t was not holy mother of Mary but something along those lines that i shouted at the top of my voice!!

 

George is getting on a lot better with the spinny now so with a little luck I should be able to keep it hoisted, that is if i can nod off with the boat accelerating down waves then coming to a rather alarming stop every 20 seconds! On that note George is having a boatspeed competition with me, he is not doing badly, his 15.3 kts plays my 17!

 

Must dash, my porridge is ready!