23:32.93N 19:31.27W

Gaudeo
John and Prue Quayle / John Quayle
Tue 20 Nov 2007 16:40
"Its the journey, not the arrival";  which might be inferred from examination of our log at the beginning of the 4th day at sea: sailed 400 miles mostly in the wrong direction; only 340 miles overland;  not quite half way to Cape Verde i.e. the wrong way; only 200 miles towards our Grenada destination; and 2500 to go. Ellen MacArthur might be weeping by now. We however, have enjoyed rather a nice lunch in the sun, and still going to windward.
 
This time yesterday a sailing  breeze developed - at last! -  but from the wrong direction, south west. Good-bye to "iron sail", pile on Dacron sail. Difficult to know where to head but continue in the direction of the Cape Verde Islands - the trades wind must be somewhere near there. Concern no longer for over all tan and getting rid of the strap marks. Deck high jinks began in  earnest - so much sail changing, reefing and tacking. JS even issued a formal complaint that he had only signed on for "down wind" sailing but he clearly hadn`t read the small print. Even astro/nav tutorials have been abandoned, though the tutor`s credibility is under review given the absence of position calculation from yesterday`s sextant noon site. We suspect it was somewhere along the Loire latitude for Sancerre; such a pity Grenada has no wine provenance as we might get there quicker.Couldn`t even find Saturn last night. Indeed he is not sure whether he mistook it for Venus - this will not do.
 
 The first offering of  Sue Smith`s superb fruit cake celebrated the return to sailing. Trouble is that there is a nocturnal cake thief aboard - mouth scrapings have been taken and arrest imminent.
 
A number of low points though not enough to bother Ellen: RB had difficulty establishing a connection - blog readers may be forgiven for misinterpreting this  - of the ethereal internet variety from which JQ who has been previously similarly afflicted, derived much  vicarious pleasure; the water maker didn`t work!!!!!! - now this is a disaster, sharks could soon be circling..............   All has been fixed-  end of today`s stress.  
 
 
 

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