Life at 35 degrees

Quite a few major news in the past severa days.

We're now officially living at 35 degrees. That is the temperature AND
angle of heel on board. We have been incredibly fortunate with our
Doldrums experience - we passed from down-wind sailing (when the wind
hits the boat mostly from behind) to up-wind sailing (when the wind
comes mostly from the bow) in a few hours rather than a few days. So we
did not have to take the test of resilience and patience, waiting for
the wind to rise for several days under roasting sun, then meeting the
heavy burdening winds of the squalls. I think we have had enough of it
around Canaries, and Neptune has been very kind to us.

Today is the 20th day on board, and we have travelled a significantly
long way: the closest continent is now South America, and we have
travelled from 51 degrees North, down to 2 degree North. We estimate to
cross the equator within 24-36 hours! Than we will start reporting
increasing degrees in the Southern Hemisphere, really very exciting:)

We're holding a good and very close 4th position within the fleet: only
1/2 and 2 hours of difference versus third and second ranks
respectively. We really are pushing hard not to end up missing a podium
ranking by less than an hour after 30 days of sailing at the end...
Currently we are enjoying 7-10 knots speed upwind. Happy happy days… -

The change of wind direction changes sailing and life on board
completely: I now know why down-wind sailing is called "gentlemen's
sailing". Although the boat is floppy, it's more or less levelled. Come
up-wind sailing, and we have lost one more luxury.
Living at 35 degrees heel is not the easiest of tasks at all. We need to
exceed our sailing skills plus add a combination of rock climbing, hard
course trekking and slipsliding to our competency set.

I feel rather like being part of a computer game: every game (which
onboard translates into me joining my watch or deck crew) you either
score or lose points as follows:

The watch starts trying to dress in the bunk when nailed down to the
side: 10 points. Next comes the jump off the bunk: secure safe ankle in
landing, ensure not to lean or land on anyone, find something to hold
onto once landed so as not to crashland onto the side of the bunk.
Successfully managed: 25 points!

Here's the next challenge then: walk to the saloon, over the sails,
while carrying sailing gear and life jacket; had a nasty knock on the
shoulder on the way, missed, minus 15 points.

Using the heads: do not fall off the toilet, do not fall into the saloon
half naked, be clean and leave the heads spotless: 75 points, (100
points if managed in less than 10 minutes).

Then comes a more tricky bit: dining in the saloon when only 3 seats
provide seating without tilting or sliding off - with a crew of 20 and
10 piling into the saloon at meal times, eating can be a hectic and
haphazard experience. The saloon is bricked by other crewmember's legs
stuck to the walls to avoid slipping and there are no handrails to hang
on to on one side. The "mission impossible" is to climb over the legs,
keeping balanced and not falling onto or annoying anyone, serve yourself
the food on the elevated floor without spilling it, find a seating place
with food in one hand, land at the spot, and finally secure yourself
with a leg on the wall before gently sliding off the seat. Hey, done
without a failure, this brings 200 points. Repeating the same success
rate three days back to back will bring me a level up the scale.

The next level requires some of these to be managed without holding on
all the time. Challenge for the rest of the journey
Sincere call to all those on land: enjoy level surfaces!
And keep an eye on me:)