Course is taking up steadily ENE, safe but slow on the hump of high pressure sitting astride the Azores to our east and south. Not far to the north the wind is trucking along at three plus feathers on the arrows, faster for us but at this stage of a what is still a very new rig we’d need a day tensioning for each day in that sort of breeze.  Doable but there’s more to get done in a day for us than just sail so keeping south now despite the slowish pace is the better course of action.  From today, I can at least tell myself that’s okay for two weeks as the two prizes waiting for me in England are at this moment overhead somewhere winging their way to Florida for holiday. Clear skies but the Europe to US flights are farther north, little chance of them looking down on us, a comforting but heart scratching thought. Hello my girls! Think of us again in two weeks when you are flying back eastbound, we’ll still be out here but thousand plus miles closer to ‘home’.

One image from today was classic. Chief Mate Paul C.W.P.M.S.U. Bracken was giving a joint presentation on Two Years Before the Mast to the crew. He was backed up against the port rail midships talking to the lot cooling it in the shade of the fore. All of twenty three years old but one of those captains-in-the-making future crews will call ‘Hard as woodpecker lips”, Paul was giving his best account of Dana’s description of life at sea on the old square riggers only to be bracketed on each side of his head by a lifeline strung with knickers (panties…the strawberry covered one by his right ear matching his sunburn nicely thankyou). Now there’s an image you just can’t invent! Hope Johnny B. DeMille captured it on video.

Love to my airborne girls, Kent

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