Firefly, 6 December 2001
17° 43 N 43° 23 W
Distance to St Lucia 1,037 nm

David Glenn in the YW office in London today told me that Caribbean guru, Joel Byerly from Antigua told him that so far this is the most windless Caribbean season he can remember in 45 years. Out here, 1,000 miles still to go, I would tend to agree with him.

Our headlong romp of the last 10 days has firmly hit the buffers and now, miraculously, we glide along at 4 knots in wind so light as to be barely perceptible. There are some advantages of light, easily driven hulls and with a heavy time penalty for engine use I will be reluctant to start the donk unless it looks as though I’ll miss the deadline to meet my family who arrive out for a holiday on 16 December.

So we sit and swelter, ekeing out every inch of shade from under the spray hood and the Suncode bimini which we rigged for the first time today. It does not supply a great deal of shade but can be moved around to provide maximum in the right part of the cockpiit. A large bottle of water is permanently in the fridge and is refilled several times a day.

Earlier today Stewart and I were discussing the food options and which tins to open first (S & K pie was looking favourite) when suddenly not one, but both fishing lines went taut and a couple of fish started leaping out of the water astern.

One escaped but the second, a very handsome Dorado weighing in at around 5 kg is destined for the pot tonight, the Fray Bentos safe for another day.

Otherwise it’s been a quiet day – quiet enough anyway to cut Duncan’s hair, though whether his wife will recognise him in St Lucia is another matter.