Today we are definitely much closer to the American continent and at that point of no return- that’s how our captain, Manuel, calls it. He says it’s better to continue forward towards the lands of Puerto Rico rather than re-trace our way back home. The truth is, Manuel knows what he is talking about and sailors like him there are just very few along. When he breaks into his stories of navigating the Galleon or the Nao Victoria at sea everybody and everything is silent- except the wind playing with the ship’s sails above, composing for him a soft background soundtrack to tell the tale.
Today -Thursday- our ship is balanced in its sway more than we already are used to in this journey. Around us only sea and sky, and it is here where our hobbies give into our routines while not on duty… It is not unusual to find anywhere on-deck at any time someone with a book in hand or doing some sort of sport.
This, only in daylight; at night everyone sleeps except those on deck watch. And every four hours we relieve the shift duty, every shift watch having its own celestial backdrop. During the day I try to be as awake and alert as much as possible so I can share the time with my crew mates- especially David, living this experience on board with him, resting together as we tie rope knots, tell each other about our shifts and eat alongside our companions, and having a “siesta”- like a good Andalusian no one takes that away from me!…
Every afternoon at the main deck’s table we have us a small game of dice. At this no one can beat Majo and I, we just dominate the table, Ha ha! I guess all the guys have nothing on us. While we play Angel is always on cook duty and -truth be told- everything he prepares for us is cracking good! I also spend a great deal of my time practicing my English with Ryan or taking as many pics that I can of life on board- our daily grunge, our catch-fishing, our fish-cooking… And for me the best days are Fridays as we set-up a makeshift movie theatre in the ships’ storage room with action movies, popcorn and all the rest.
And if I tell you about bathing on top of the deck- more than a routine it becomes horsing-around as showering whilst balancing yourself during the boat sways, water sloshing and spilling all over the deck into the scuppers, and yourself with shower gel all over you becomes a tremendous feat to achieve!
We are in what I reckon to be the midpoint of our Atlantic crossing, and we are almost full sails into the wind being nudged right along into our destination.
Greetings and best wishes to all my family and friends- ¡Olé Punta Umbría!
Latitude: 16 35’2 N
Longitude: 36 58’9 W
Course: 280º W
Eduina.xv