Saturday March 2nd, More…

What a truly amazing day we had today. Daisy managed to do a few hours here and there with her sails up, but mostly we were motoring, there simply wasn’t enough wind, and we would find ourselves bobbing along at between 2 – 3 knots, basically going nowhere fast, at that pace it would take us three weeks to reach our destination. Unlike most of the other Oysters, we have deadlines, (nothing new there) Graeme has a flight out of the Galapagos on the 7th, and I’m really excited because Danni flies in on the 9th, but the deadlines mean that we don’t have the luxury of taking it easy and just going with the wind. I really, really wish I could get Nic a ticket here, this is absolutely a trip that we should have done as a family, sometimes work just gets in the way!

It’s absolutely wonderful when the motor is off, surrounded as we are by an ocean so flat you can see in all directions for miles, it’s peaceful, soothing and very relaxing as we smoothly float along gently rocking from side to side. All our time is spent scouring the horizon for dolphins and whales.

And we’ve been rewarded several times today with many, many dolphins, swimming with Daisy, racing along at her bow, and then an enormous group possibly over a hundred dolphins playing in the current just ahead of us, they were leaping out of the water in great numbers, Edi saw a number of sharks, and late afternoon I spotted a small pod of Pilot whale’s about four or five of them. I was on the satellite phone to Danni at the time, poor thing; I probably blasted her eardrum as I yelled out in great excitement “Whales” to everyone. The Pilot whales swam so close to us Edi was able to get some cool video footage, and Graeme and I managed to get some great photographs.

Everyone is missing Paul, especially Ed, he’s missing his drinking buddy, as well as his uncle’s great sense of humor. It’s such a shame that he’s had to miss this adventure. I’m thinking that we should do this trip again sometime in the future and then Paul, Danni and Nic could do it as well… I can but dream.

This is my third day at sea and I’m probably going to blow the socks off everyone by saying “I’m loving it”; the crossing is not at all what I expected, and the bottle of vodka hasn’t left the freezer. Although we do all indulge in a beer with lunch. Cocktails and snacks at five, and dinner and wine at seven, so we’re not exactly teetotal! However, I’m drinking to enjoy it, not to calm my nerves. The crossing is so smooth I’m happily able to work in the galley, and we’re even able to have some of the hatches open while we’re below, although not at night of course.

I’ve been cooking up a storm; sweet & sour chicken, chili, quiches, curries, stir-fry, grilled (freshly caught) Wahoo, pasta salads, chocolate chip cookies, upside down pineapple cake, crème brulee… We’re all eating rather well this trip. And I’m enjoying cooking.
I realize that things can change in a heartbeat at sea, so I’m trying to enjoy as much as I can while the going is so lovely. I’m still in total awe at how flat and calm the sea is, although the boys are praying for wind so we can put the sails up. That would be nice, but the wildlife and the ability to function without a moment of seasickness is keeping me very happy.

We could really do with some rain to wash Daisy off she is so dusty and salty; otherwise everything is just wonderful.

Edi and I were on watch tonight just after eleven, as the moon rose on the horizon like a giant orange orb casting a shimmering path of light across the black ocean towards Daisy. It was incredible to watch, although it dimmed the brilliance of the stars overhead. I didn’t know where to look first, at the bioluminescent (bright flashes of lights) in the water around us, or the amazing stars, that look confusingly different from this perspective and location…