11:53.00N 62:19.29W

 

We are getting there. Yesterday we were about 68 miles down wind of Grenada today we are 31 miles and definitely hopeful of a land fall tomorrow.

 

Its 06 00 and we have calypso music on the CD, somebody I haven’t heard of. Yesterday it was Bob Marley. We are getting in the mood. In fact we have missed the Caribbean feel since leaving Antigua in early April. We called in Anguilla clandestinely after Antigua to spend our spare East Caribbean dollars but got little feel for the place other than it seemed to be going down the tube. The Caribbean feel as I like to think of it does not exist in Virgin Isles or Puerto Rico.  PR is American Spanish, not sure what the Virgins are commercialism I guess.

 

Our (read my decision) to head for Grenada instead of the planned exit for Blighty from PR has been ‘an experience’, please no more experiences for  a while. However two things have happened on this trip which would have given us serious concern for  a major crossing. Firstly, Monica unexpectantly pinged the position setting bracket (we believe its a faulty weld and will be talking with the supplier) and something I haven’t mentioned to date, a collapsed universal joint bearing on the steering drive. It is holding together but there is a bit of unnecessary backlash in the steering drive. This backlash may explain some of the problems we have been having with the electric auto pilot holding course recently.

 

We are both in good spirits though we are out of snacky food, like biscuits, cerk and our staple, crisps. We munched through the last crumbs yesterday. Other than that we have mountains of food and water.

 

Asked for a quote, Norm says everything’s alright bit fed up of being bounced around. This whole passage has been spent close hauled, (sails hard in) as a consequence RT is heeling over. We are not sure which is worse the rolly poley of the Atlantic crossing or continually hanging on for grim death as we move around the boat.