La Promesse NED7576

Blue water cruising. Sun. Calm sea. Gentle breeze. Seven to eight knots sog. Sunbathing on deck. Race mode!!

Our estimated time of arrival is next month.

Genoa down. Yellow (code5) up. Yellow down blue (code0) up. Blue down yellow up. Yellow down genoa up. Puff. Lull. Puff. 1.9-2.3-4.4-6.6(!)-5.8-etc.
Two cargo’s crossed ahead of us. On a direction to Newport. Yes, they can. We cannot. Patience is our middle name.

Floris & JanKees

Nerve wracking.

……baked apple pie. Or tarte Tatin as it was invented by the sisters Tatin once. That is what we want. A piece? No. One pie for Flo and one pie for me. Alou, youngest daughter, bakes a Tartin regularly. And know we need one.
Drizzle, light winds, bit colder at a gentle sea. Where last night was rough and bumpy. It feels like the US is drifting away from us.

Floris & JanKees

Thirty five times. That’s the remaining distance till finish. We’ll not achieve our goal to set a new record doublehanded 40 foot. But hey, we enjoy the sailing and the sea. Dolphins this morning. In the sun now after brunch with bacon eggs.

Floris & JanKees

… by a windless cell (windwak). Doing 7.5 sog. Tack! Zero. Nada. Nax. Niente. Sur place! Neptune holding our keel. Like a glass wall! “You see! We all live in a simulation”, Wouter (middle son) would say.

…that tastes good! Last night we scored the best dry food meals we ate so far. At a scale of 5(best); trademark, dish, score. There we go:

– 24 hour meals, Chicken Massaman, 5 (good reason to buy a boat or climb Mt Everest)
– Adventure menu, Penne Bolognese m parmesan, 5 (serve it on a dish and everyone will belief that ‘Nonna from Milano’ has made it fresh today)
– Turmat, Tikka masala, 5 (respect! After dinner we put a red dot on our foreheads with a permanent marker 😱) – Lio Food, Tikka masala, 4 (second best, no red dot)
– Adventure menu, Pork rib with potatoes, 3 (‘Schweinfilet mit Kartoffeln’ sounds like Austrian wintersport menu. Fitted perfectly in the temperatures here)

Twix, Mars, Snicker. Haribo (Hans Riegel aus Bonn), Chips, BellaVita (good morning and sesame crackers), etcetera.

Mjum mjum, we’d say!

Floris & JanKees

We had a nice conversation with a fisherman from Nova Scotia fishing on the banks here. At channel 10 we talked for half an hour about sailing, fishing and the Dutch flag he was flying because his grandma was from Utrecht. He wanted to know everything about our race and how we managed to sail non stop for so long on such a small boat from UK to Rhode Island. “You want fish? I have fresh Halibut for you!”, he offered. “Wow! Delicious man, but we’re racing. Can’t stop”. He told us that two of his sons are part of the crew and that the 6 days at sea were just doable together. “Good to hear that you two get along so well! Haha!”
They got a good catch and will head home to Nova Scotia tomorrow after a week of fishing.
It sounds like one of the scenes from Perfect Storm, the movie. Or an episode of The Deadliest Catch, a serie we like to watch.

Upwind sailing again and for the remainder of the course so it seems. Coming closer to Newport we fantasize about a long warm shower, decent meal (huge steak or burger (Halibut for me)) and normal clothes. But first of all; a cold beer at the finish. To celebrate arrival. Who will bring us one?

Cheers, from the grand banks with love,

Floris and Jankees