April 18, 2008 - Midday Friday 18 April - Shark swims and shooting stars

Number of random creatures found on deck: 1 squid

Yesterday afternoon was so balmy and pleasant that we decided to heave to and have quick dip. At least Mike and I did, Mark and Brian declined on the grounds that their “spouses would not approve”. Thankfully there are still some trouser wearing members of the crew left so we took the plunge. (B here – My spouse would most certainly not have disapproved .. she would probably been in before them! .. I didn’t do it because I DID NOT WANT TO !!) Careful to avoid the jelly fish we dived in and had a (very) quick swim in the mid Atlantic at least a thousand miles from any land. Specifically it was 34.07.3 north, 51.45.0 west, where no man has swum before, probably. Ok so technically there weren’t any sharks around as far as we knew but just before I leapt in I saw some very panicked fish obviously fleeing something big so who knows.  (If you’ve seen Jim in his swimmies you’d panic too)

After supper DJ Captain Seymour laid down some tunes for us, mainly Rule Britannia and Jerusalem at full volume – something to do with St George’s Day preparation. I am not sure that DJ Marky Mark hasn’t lost his touch with the kids and am very worried that we are not going to get much of a crowd at our full moon party tonight. There are still tickets available for anyone interested. Bring a bottle.

The night watch was stunning. Gin clear with a low moon and more stars than you can shake a stick at. The constellations were as vivid as I have ever seen and some even looked (a little bit) like bears and hunters. There were lots of shooting stars, many with long fiery tails making for an amazing spectacle.

This morning we found a squid on deck and can only assume that we have discovered a new species of flying cephalopod. All in all it was a very satisfying day, boasting two world firsts which will surely secure our names in the history books. Can somebody please contact the National Geographic and tell them to bring their cheque book if they want an exclusive.

FOR PHOTOS PLS CLICK ON ... http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Yacht.Jem/AtlanticCrossing

April 21, 2008 - shark swim