First and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGIE!!

Oh no, oh no, oh no!….Like pass the parcel, you know it is going to stop
at some point but the odds are against it being you.  Thankfully it wasn’t
me when the mid-heads decided to block.  No dyno-rod out here.  Time to get up the floor boards, flex the rubber gloves and stink the boat out with poo.   A team set about bailing the toilet, cleaning the pipes and then anti-
bacing and bleaching every surface.  Living in such close confinement to
that and having 19 people use one loo is a new level of unpleasant.  All
because of one wet wipe. Still, worse things happen at sea….errrr.

A stunning sunrise greeted our 4-8am watch this morning.  It was however a little over zealous to apply sun cream at 5:30 am.  You could describe that watch as perfect.  A steady 12 knots over the water in precisely the direction of Albany, nice calm seas and a freshly stocked snack cupboard. Just as the smell of toast was wafting up the companion way the bloody kite wrapped.  All hands, wake the skipper, get it down on deck (toast getting cold), mark the tear, hoist the yankee, prep the replacement kite (porridge now stodgy) and then hand over the chaos to the new watch.  Ooops.

With just over a week to go there is a certain buoyant feel again.  Everyone
is counting down in their own way using units of measurement that make the time feel that bit less.  No one is wishing time away but everyone is
longing for sleep etc.

Anyway there are two things between us and the finish (as things stand). 1) the ocean sprint 2) a big storm.  I think that both are due to start at similar times and we are going to fly by the seat of our pants with the spinnaker in the likely wild seas.  Brace, brace.  It will put those leigh clothes to the test (bed seat belts) and no doubt I’ll wake with net imprint on my face and my finger clinging to my cubby hole.

It has now got to the point that I can’t wait to have a pixie cut because my
scalp is on fire and the birds are now nesting.  Amazing what not having a
mirror does.  And then I get flashes to my fist day back in the office where
pixie cuts are perhaps not the norm….jeeez.

Enjoying life at sea (apart from Odeon).  I will miss the simplicity when
its all over.  Still, I have 4 amazing land stops to go.  Wahoo.  Enjoy your
Tuesday morning!

xxx