Trinidad - Norman

500 miles at sea. Time was spent competing for max speed over the water. Hugh managed a respectable 8.2 knots, Fionnuala 8.3, Niall 8.4, Fiona held the lead for a good while with 8.6 until Noel awoke fresh after 6 hours of sleep and got Tara up to 8.7. This speed combined with the underlying water movement gave us an over the ground speed of 9.5 knots over the ground. Noels result is questionable as it is suspected that he was not sailing on course when he achieved his high speed. This competitiveness lead to quite unsettled sleep as we charged through the water close hauled with the boat at an ever increasing angle with our guards rails slowly vanishing underwater. 2.5m swells and constant winching in order to get the most out of the sails didn’t help either.

Most hurricanes start around the Cape Verde islands off Africa and move over the Atlantic. However all recorded Grade 5 hurricanes are formed around 15 degrees North and 64 degrees West. These are the seas we have just sailed through. These tend to track in a West to East direction. Think Katrina, Lenny and Mitch.

We did pass the tiny Venezuelan bird sanctuary island of Isla Aves about 250 miles into the trip, surprisingly it looked like little more than an oil rig.

Other significant events include:
Hugh awaking Tuesday morning with a flying fish lying next to him… must of slipped in one of the portholes.
Wednesdays highlight was a delicious roast chicken dinner. The challenge here was to keep the gravy on the plate. This gave us all the required energy to race North for another night.

Were now anchored off Norman Island, apparently where Robert Louis Stevenson got his inspiration for writing Treasure Island. Were heading to Soper’s Hole, Tortola in about half an hour. Were treating ourselves t o a berth in a marina for 2 nights. Saturday night will be spent in Bombas Shack for a Full Moon party. Give it a google if you want to know what were getting ourselves in to.
Pictures will follow later tonight. (Sunday 31st).