April 19, 2024 – Caribbean Offshore 1000: Antigua to the Bahamas
So we are nearly two days into the watch system on the Caribbean Offshore 1000: Antigua to the Bahamas and have seen our final bit of land for about the next 400 miles, possibly more. The competition is strong with Hummingbird as we managed to get our anchor up and onto the fuel dock in St Marten for a diesel top-up before her, so we had a head start on the race to the Bahamas. Not wanting an ‘unfair’ start to the race, we slowed down over the first night to let her catch up. With a very light wind forecast and 1000 miles to make, we had to motor sail at 6 knots. But today, there had been just about an F3 close reach, meaning we are sailing side by side (with Bluejay slightly ahead!), and we are hoping this wind forecast fills in even more for us! But as I type, I’m watching the wind die, and I may have to stick the motor on again. But team Bluejay already has one up on the fishing competition with a Mahi Mahi caught today for some lunchtime excitement – and now fresh fish tacos are on the menu!
April 20, 2024 – A day onboard Bluejay during the Caribbean Offshore 1000: Antigua to the Bahamas
Today, the day started at 0630 with the cooks producing some tasty French toast (or eggy bread, as you prefer). Boat debates cover many topics. The selection of toppings was varied, including peanut butter, jams, pancake syrup, marmite (yuk), honey, and even golden syrup.
The daily routine begins with shaking out reefs, checking the deck and engine daily, and cleaning. Most importantly, after yesterday’s success, the fishing gear is redeployed in the hope of another free lunch. We’ve run a couple of mini master classes over the last couple of days, including sail trim and sea survival, and today was an introduction to sextants and celestial navigation and spinnaker pole drills in the hope that we will be flinging the spinnaker soon.
The cooks rustled up some lovely tuna and bean mayo wraps, and our Canadian, American, and British crew soon settled into what is becoming our usual multicultural debates on food, language, pronunciation, and dialects.
More sail trimming for our course and an afternoon of good winds led to winding up our day with excellent stir-fried pork noodles, a watch change, and reefing down for the night sailing under a beautiful and bright waxing moon.
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