Big seas, great show and annoying music

The Headliners make a splash on stage on Aurora

Another feature of our wonderful internet is that, if the bathroom door is open, it doesn’t work. Seriously! Many’s the time either of us has shouted “Sorry,” as we went into the bathroom and interrupted a vital online transaction. And being online had been important as we hammered across the watery wastes at 20 knots with Vigo at 299 nautical miles away. The sea was rolling big style with lolloping great peaks and troughs making the ship sway from side to side and up and down. The south-westerly wind was blowing us north-eastwards and helping to create a following swell - apparently the only type of sea that Aurora doesn’t cope with very well. 

Reasons to be grumpy: parts one, two and three

Gabrielle in grump part two

It has to be said that I found myself in a bit of a grump yesterday. Whether it was due to so many days at sea, not looking forward to going home, but in another way so looking forward to simple things, like a room not moving, a decent brew, our food, seeing family and friends. Maybe it was the whole combo of emotions. I realise we can’t stay in this bubble forever and reality needs to return. However, it didn’t stop me from feeling a general “grumph” about things.

Night breezes, Steevan and flying fish

From noon yesterday to noon today we have travelled 338 nautical miles at an average speed of 14 knots. It’s a little bit waggy right now with a 2 to 3-metre swell, but thankfully we’re going slowly and there’s no need for my wristbands. We’ve got 268 nautical miles to go to our next stop, Mindelo, Cape Verde. It’s a bank holiday in Cape Verde tomorrow so I have no idea if this means it’ll be deathly quiet or buzzing. We’ll see. What I do know is that we get an extra hour in bed, which is just as well as our trip sets off at 8.30 tomorrow. 

It emerges ...

After the long dark night of the soul, we have emerged into the sunlit uplands at 19 degrees C and a slow swell with a lower wind. We have the door of our cabin open onto the balcony and the sun is shining. We've just completed an energetic walk of over two miles around the Promenade Deck, knocking over grannies as we powered along.