Today, we passed another milestone, three quarters of the way to Horta , 575 miles to go as of this morning. There is lots to report since the last entry. Until last night periods of coasting along under light winds alternated with motoring. For most of one day, we flew the spinnaker, and, because conditions were so stable, we continued into the night, until large swell gave us the opportunity for a delightful team building exercise by wrapping the spinnaker around the forestay. After sorting this out, we sat in the cockpit enjoying the new level of camaraderie we had achieved.
Last night the wind we had long been waiting for arrived, and built throughout the day until we were sailing briskly, wing and wing, in winds around 15 knots. While basking in the sun, we anticipated the arrival of stronger winds with a low coming from the north. In the afternoon, a textbook front made its appearance and approached rapidly. The first line of black clouds passed overhead uneventfully but was following by a line of towering cumulus accompanied by winds up to 26 knots and higher. By now, we make changes of sail configuration like a well oiled machine. Horta, here we come … no more dallying. Throughout this time our quality of life has been enhanced by the incomparable cuisine for which Chez Bower is becoming known…Kaiserschmarren by myself, banana bread by Melissa, tuna salad sandwiches on fresh from scratch poppy seed buns by Domenic, premade lentil delight by Bob, Duck confit with sauteed potatoes and peas by Dan, and coq au vin by David. As I write, Jerome is demonstrating the technique of preparing potatoes au gratin and steak while leaning at a 30 degree angle. Tom has also contributed to our quality of life by not cooking, although he has graciously sous cheffed.
Lovely peaceful days of lounging in the cockpit while listening to play lists of old favorites have given way to stimulating conditions that promise to be more typical of the rest of our voyage. Our morale is good. While we are looking forward to our interlude in Horta, we refrain from thinking any specific things about it, in order to be more present in the here and now, as prescribed by Dr. Dan. However, references to certain forms of liquid refreshment become notably more frequent.
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