Day 17

With the wind still refusing to cooperate, everyone’s mildly lethargic routine of reading in the sun has remained intact. Some of the crew swam, and realized it was possible to do backflips off the bow, which was entertaining until the motor had to be turned on again and swimming was no longer an option.

After swimming, there was the sound of ratchets- there was something on one of the fishing lines. The catch of the day turned out to be a Dorado, but it was too small to eat, so it was released. Peter was rather annoyed that he didn’t get to see the fish, as he was helming at the time.

Later on, we caught yet another Dorado of essentially the same size. This time, as it was reeled in and brought onto the stern, the fish found such a will to live that as soon as it was free of the hook it started to flop around- free of the fishermen’s hands. This fish flopped straight through the open window of the aft cabin, and onto a startled Rory’s bed. Both of the skippers were reading in their cabin at the time, and the last thing they expected was their aquatic guest.

There were roars of laughter as the shell-shocked Dorado flopped manically around the bed and onto the table surface next to it. Our scaly visitor was picked up and released without too much hassle from there. This time there were no complaints from Peter about not seeing the catch.

For supper, we feasted on pizzas and mashed potatoes. Kyle cooked, all the youngsters helped, and everybody enjoyed. The pizzas were very tasty, and we could all agree that the second two were better than the first two.

At exactly 11h00 on the 12th of January 2019, after much anticipation, six hands helmed the Rotary Scout across the Greenwich meridian. We have less than 400 nautical miles left till we reach our destination, and the anticipation of this event is building.