Message From nicole

We're the lead boat at the moment, which is pretty cool. Still a long way to go, but its definitely much more fun to be at the front than the back. Winds have been great and we have already clocked up over 1000 miles. Unfortunately though, the excessively large bruise on my bottom (achieved at the end of the last leg) seems only to be getting bigger.... although my klutz like tendencies, whilst still the worst on the boat, may have improved marginally...

Leg 1...

So we finally made it to Brazil..... A few days late but never mind. Brazil is good, I am eating lots of fruit to make up for all that I have missed over the last weeks - oh and a few beers and Caipirinias. Brazil is nice, though lots of pick pockets - my friend already has had her bag snatched. We are now at the beach chilling out for a day or two, though we have to go back to stock up the boat with food tomorrow.
So how was leg 1...? Good and bad. Did some great sailing, with the sun shining, the stars out, and the dolphins playing alongside, spinnaker flying and surfing down the waves. Also had some tough times, with things breaking in the middle of the night, or no wind at all - which is v frustrating for everyone . Have been trying to hone my helming skills, but am still fairly shit - though by no means the worst. We have a great crew, though there are some pretty interesting characters on board, so am doing my best there . Got told off for always being last on watch - though personally I think that the fact that I am not late (not early mind) is pretty bloody good for me - (must try harder, but is pretty hard having to get up every few hours, and I get delayed by all of those decisions about what to wear! - one layer or two, shorts or oilies - is very difficut). Have my second biggest buise ever at the mo, an my bottom, which means that I am looking particularly attractive in my bikini!
So is pretty cool to have made it across the Atlantic. We didn´t get a great placing, but I think we have potential for the future. (Maybe a podium spot in Durban...??) We are good at getting good mileage - but not always in the right direction! Have been making good use of the udder cream, though the one on board has peppermint in it, which gives you a slight tingling feeling in your bottom!
So i´ll leave you with that thought ......
xxx

Message From nicole

So we crossed the equator on Sunday lunchtime. Neptune visited for our equator crossing ceremony and initiated us by throwing either nasty slops or cold porridge on us (luckily I got the porridge which was the better of the two). We then finished off with a very nice bottle of whisky (courtesy of one of our Scotsmen) - some for Neptune + some for us. Now we are bashing down the coast of Brazil (lots of waves + spray) ETA Thurs lunchtime. Bring on Brazil!

Message From nicole

Its getting damn hot now as we continue down towards the equator. Night sailing is now much more fun than day sailing, as you get a nice warm breeze under a starlit sky, instead of the scorchio of the day. Had a party the other day for skipper Marcus' birthday, with hats, balloons, a moustache competition (face paints for the girls, some v dodgy real ones from the boys) and some comedy boobs...! Surprisingly, the boobs have proved to be particularly useful when trimming the spinnaker (as a small cushion)! Saw the coolest thing last night. There were some dolphins swimming alongside the boat, which you coudn't see in the dark, but then you could see these swooshes of phosphoresence as they swam around. The phosphoresence is like little fairly lights in the sea! Our email system is a little shoddy, so if anyone has tried to email me on the boat, then its possible that it hasn't made it, so just try again.

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Message From nicole

Day 16. A question. Why do things always break in the middle of the night? In the daytime, we sail along nicely in the sunshine. At night we sail along under the stars, watching the moon rise, occasionally being hit by a flying fish or two. Then theres a large thud & a sail or something comes crashing to the deck, & we spend the next 2 hours pfaffing around in the dark trying to fix it! Have passed the halfway point now, & heading towards the doldrums. xx

Message From nicole

So we've finally escaped from the lack of wind in the Canaries and heading down to the Cape Verdes. Is hot hot hot and like an oven down below. Just saw a pod of small dolphins. The dolphins love playing in the waves made by the boat, so often come to visit - can do wonders when on a dull watch. Saw another Clipper today. Was WA, though now we can't see them anymore as we have passed them by. haha! Off to cook the dinner in sec, as on mother watch. xx

from the Canaries

'Apologies for lack of updates to the blog but my messages failed to arrive (rubbish email system). Life on board is going well. We are all into the watch routine now. Still rubbish being woken up all the time during the night but am loving the daytime napping opportunities! Last few days have been pretty frustrating, as we hit a dead calm in the Canaries. 0 knots of boat speed is pretty depressing; + a bit of a change from crossing the Bay of Biscay which was choppy, windy + we managed to broach (tip the boat on its side)! Weather is hot now, the bruised legs are out for all to see...'