Passage Report 4
Noon Position 23 deg. 52’ N. 036 deg. 52’ W.
Course – 258 Degrees Speed – 10 Knots Day’s Run – 246 Miles
Weather – Clear and sunny.
Wind – 2 -4 knots Variable
Timoneer coming off a surf at 14 knots.
Because of the weather we haven’t fished for over 2 days. That changed yesterday and the action started shortly after lunch when we got 2 strikes on the lines at once. Andre stopped the boat as Jonny and I made a dash for the rods at the stern. One managed to jump off the hook but we landed a fat Skipjack tuna of about 10-11 kilos. Fileted 30 minutes later, he is now relaxing in the fridge in preparation for a little sashimi this evening. At five o’clock one of the lines went racing and this time Jonny pulled in a mahi-mahi. Satisfactory afternoon.
Jonny’s mahi-mahi
Later on, after sunset, in the pitch darkness and waiting for the moon to rise, a ‘blip’ appeared on the radar. The AIS revealed it to be the 80,000 ton crude oil carrier African Spirit en route to Nova Scotia. The radar predicted its CPA (closest point of approach) to be less than 2 miles so we slowed to let him pass in front at about 3 miles. Just as well! Richard did a little research on the ship and discovered that it reputedly ran down a British 40 foot racing yacht while on a voyage to Cape Verde Islands in 2011. The story is inconclusive, but they did pick up the 2 crew members from the water and deliver them to land.
This morning we had the most glorious dawn on the trip so far. It’s a beautiful day now and suddenly everyone is volunteering for deck work and washing off the encrusted salt from earlier this week.
Tonight at 1700 we will be 1400 miles from Antigua which is half-way from our departure point, Arrecife. That coincides with ‘happy hour.’ Good timing!
All best from,
Peter and crew
