It's all relative

We haven’t actively broken anything in the last 24-hours but we have noticed that something that wasn’t broken 10 days ago, now seems to be broken. We keep seeing one of the other ARC+ boats (Vega) on the horizon, but when we call them on the VHF radio, we get no response. They are a very friendly Norwegian family and so I don’t think it’s because they are ignoring us. They also don’t show up on our AIS (Automatic Information System - a clever bit of electronics that transmits your position, course, and speed etc. This is then picked up by boats in the vicinity and reduces the chance of collisions. It also tells you how big the vessel is, and so in “I-Spy book” fashion, we are constantly looking for the biggest boat we can find. The record so far is 399 metres). Anyway, we had initially assumed that our Norwegian friends must have a problem with their VHF and AIS since ours had been working fine when we left Cape Verde. To test this hypothesis, we rummaged around in the emergency grab bag and found our handheld VHF radio and tried calling them on that, with little hope of getting a response. There they were, crystal clear. It was us that had the problem and not them. It then dawned on me that the aerial is at the top of the mast. The same top of the mast that Jacob had been clinging too a week or so ago, grabbing whatever came to hand to get a better hold. Oh well, something else to get fixed when we get to St Lucia.

We now have 240 nautical miles to go, having sailed 1,897 miles since leaving Cape Verde. We’re nearly there! It’s funny how this trip has totally changed our perspective. When we were happily sailing across to Brittany each summer, the 120-mile crossing was a major undertaking. Now that seems like a short hop, skip and a jump. Having said that, sailing to Brittany with its massive tides and currents, and an abundance of rocky bits, was often a lot more challenging that this Atlantic crossing has proved to be. Plus we had to keep the twins entertained. On this trip there is nothing to bump into, and the weather conditions have been unbelievably benign. Plus the twin that we have with us is now of an age he is actually useful (as long as you’re not too precious about your aerials). Last night he even cooked dinner and the galley doesn’t seem to have suffered too much from the experience. We had beer macaroni cheese with the emphasis on the beer. Knowing that we are running short of milk and water, Jacob decided that it would make sense to use the whole can of beer rather than the amount specified in the recipe. The end result was interesting!