Fri/Sat 14/15th March
Friday morning's tally was four very small flying fish - and one very rotten big one hidden behind the bucket on deck...yuck! Saturday's was nine small ones - & one big enough (6"/15cm long) - & fresh enough! - to eat - filleted it and fried it. They're delicious but have rather a lot of bones.
On the chafe front, I added a second shackle to the one in the bow already holding down the pole downhaul - that brought it slightly further out & higher and gave the line a better lead over the sheave - so no more chafe worries there. While the genoa was furled in to do that, I also moved the genoa car slightly - again, that meant the genoa sheet had a clear run, so avoiding the chafe worry there also. The clear tubing still has its use in one or two places - on such a long passage, even the smallest
amount of rubbing on such a continuous basis spells bad news.
Sailing is going well - consistent 15-20 knot SE/ESE winds, making for 6-7 knots or more of boatspeed with a touch of foul current at times but nothing much. We're rolling most of the time in fairly large swell with the regular 'biggie' turning up to really catch us & knock us around - have had to make sure everything is really secure & frequently have to hang on tightly! Skies have been fairly cloudy at times, but with plenty of sun and not much rain - have seen it around, but so far we've not
got wet since first night out. By noon Saturday, we were creaming along under blue skies - definitely time to relax & enjoy lying in the sun!! First time that's been possible since I don't know when..
Last few days noon to noon runs have been good: 120 (21hrs out); 140; 150 mls. So far so good - but expect lighter winds in a day or so...