our ocean...

DAY 16 – 10TH December 2007

Position: 14º 51’ N 57º 33’ W
Bearing: 275º
Distance to go: 207 Nm

At last we had a reason to enjoy the 02.00 to 06.00 watch, the wind has come back to say hello and it’s come back in force. This boat loves to reach and the wind on the port beam is blowing her along beautifully. Perhaps someone on the crew sent a prayer explaining how we wanted to reach dry land sooner rather than later.

Late in the afternoon we watched as a boat was catching us up from astern. At 72 ft long “One too many” didn’t take long to reach us. They came abeam of us and we both took some pictures and video to share later on. It seemed strange to be sharing “our ocean” with someone else, it’s surprising how you get used to looking at an empty ocean. It wasn’t long until they headed off to starboard and we set up for our last night’s sailing.

The mood on our last night watch was upbeat but very tired. The amount of squalls we had dealt with recently had taken their toll. We had expected to be dealing with some squalls, but the occasional ferocity and duration had taken us by surprise sometimes. We are used to the rhythm of sailing the boat but I think all of us are ready for the final adventure; landfall.

A watch were punctual as ever to relieve us at 06.00, but the wind had been forcing us higher and higher over the last hour and so we stayed on deck for another 40 minutes to help gybe the boat. As much as you practise this manouvre during the day, it requires concentration and patience in the dark after being on watch for four hours. The last thing any of us would want is an accident this close to our destination.

We left A watch to hunt down the remaining miles and they did an admirable job. It’s surprising what kind of incentive an ice cold rum punch can be. Tomorrow we should be arriving and finishing a great adventure. One careful push should see us in St Lucia proud of a good job well done.


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