Fish Attack!

DAY 14 - 8TH December 2007

Position: 15º 47' N 52º 39' W
Bearing: 280º
Distance to go: 492 Nm

We took over from A watch at 02.00. They had seen a boat approaching for a while which came within 100m before it gybed away. By the time were on deck it was on the distant horizon. The wind was moving all the time and finally we realised we would need to gybe in the dark. And right on cue came the biggest squall so far. Horizontal rain, confused winds and an ever changing sea state made each movement around the deck quite tricky. And then it happened, whilst winching in the roller reefing out of the darkness it came, heading straight for me, with jaws open wide. A flying fish had chosen just this moment to leap aboard and take a direct line to me. The other crew on watch will say I screamed like a girl although I beg to differ. All I remember is a flapping fish laying beside me as instructions were sent my way to carry on winching. I did try to pick it up but between my squeamish nature and the rolling of the boat it escaped my attempts to get hold of it. Looking back now, I would guess it was at least 1 ft long, again there is some discrepancy and the others on watch say it was less than 3 inches. I'll leave it to you to decide which is closer to the truth! We finished the gybe successfully and finally the rain finished and hot chocolate was served.

After a little sleep we came back on deck to be told we had under 500 miles to go. Another milestone that we had all been waiting for. There is a lot of talk now of what is the best drink to have at the bar when we arrive. Hotel rooms are being dreamed of and hot , long showers are imagined. This talk is a lot of fun, but it also brings home the fact that our adventure is entering its final phase. Time to reflect and concentrate on enjoying the last few days.

The wind may be helping to prolong our trip as it is doing its best to play havoc with our plans. Coming and going, changing direction and driving some of the members of the crew mad. The best approach is to remember we are a sailing boat and we can only do what the wind will allow. At present it is allowing us to bobb around this rather large ocean. The only upside is that it makes it a lot easier to eat, and once again or chef supreme came up trumps with a homemade cheesecake and "the best bolognase in the world".

Early evening was spent watching lightning away on the horizon as the wind lazily came and went.


You can track the progress of Northern Child, which is updated every hour, on their web site at: northernchild.com