The other day when it was a calm sea we experienced a near miss with a whale, who just dived some 3 metres away on our port side. 
Identification was impossible, we only saw the pectoral fins, 
but from that the best guess is a sperm or humpback whale. 
He ( sorry:  or she ) has been either 
sleeping, 
breathing 
or fishing 
at the surface. 
Probably the latter. 
Because this is what we came across slightly later : 
An ocean full of swimming bubbles ! 
Different in size, but basically the same shape, looked like little flying fish at first hand,  
but turned out to be some kind of cocoon of soft jelly, and 'trapped ' inside we believe indeed 
small flying fish babies. 
So it must have been fish eggs floating on the surface of the ocean. 
On closer looks, 
it reminded me of Dim Sum filled with lobster or prawn or indeed fish. 
Well folk, if there is a qualified marine biologist among my readers, 
pls feel free to identify the 
USO's 
( Un-identified Swimming Objects ) .

We picked one up. and put it in a bucket of water. 
Mainly purple in colour, jelly on the outside that got easily off , but difficult to see the shape, but
 it looked like a small Flying Fish, with the top fin like a sail. 

Beyond that, no further news.

Yours, Master Mike.

Position : 32° 01'.0 N and 038°22'.0 W
Day / Time : 08.04.2013, 09:00 UTC
Mood : slightly tired, slightly hilarious, slightly ridiculous ! 

We are 13 days at sea. And the mood is excellent. 
We have sailed through a High pressure system at its NE corner for the last 24 hours under engine, so we are well positioned for both a Low pressure passing in the north of us, bringing us NW winds, and a high pressure system behind that will bring us back a good SE and then SW wind. 
So we can relax for the time being and enjoy that we have made this morning at 09:10 UTC the half way distance to Gibraltar ( the direct great circle line is 3300nm) , but it will be faster for the second half because we are almost on the same lattitude than Gib. 
Excellent. And it is hot !! 33 degrees !!
Smoked a cigar early ( 06:00 am local time ), and the obligatory Gin and Tonic will follow later today.. 
Together with some other celebrations ! 
Life is beautiful !!!!!! 
I could go on forever,  
Yes, we can !!!!!!! 

And it doesn't need much. 
YOU ARE NOT REMEMBERED FOR WHAT YOU HAVE, BUT WHAT YOU ARE !

I assume only few if any know the following poem by Felix Dennis, Island Dreams,Mystique, 2003 : 

Before - and After :

When you're young - they want you older,
When you're old - they want you young;
When she's gone - you wish you 'd told her,
When she's back - you bite your tongue.

When you're cross - it's 'Let's not fight dear',
when you're tired - it's party time !
When you're hard - it's 'not tonight ,dear',
When you're prose - she speaks in rhyme.

When you're broke - it's 'I've been thinking...'
When you're rich - it's '...join the gym!'
When you're ill - it's .....all that drinking..'
When you're dead - it's 'WHO ? Oh, HIM ! '

One day later, and we are 2 weeks at sea. 
During the night we had a heavy wind coming in. 
We were prepared for it but when it hits you there is always an element of surprise. 
BF 10 and waves up to 5m high. 
Thankfully it comes on to the quarter ( slightly from behind )  but the danger is that one of these big waves might turn the boat and we get hit by the next on the beam. That would make us flip. 
So every watch is on high alert, whilst we fly with12kts towards the East. 
We will stay on 33 degrees North roughly as long as it takes to make good for distance to Gibraltar. 
Only 1465 nautical miles to go.

 Peanuts, People, Peanuts.

The last nights on watch have also been very cold. With the northerly wind at present it seems no more than 10 degrees outside. 
When you come from 33 degrees with night temperatures of say 26-28 degrees, then you feel the difference. 
We are heading East again, south of the Azores, as a huge storm is developing in the north, hitting Horta with more than 60 kts . 
So let's keep it cool ( or shall I say "warm" ) and stay more in the south. 
Everything else is the same. Expected time of arrival is next week Friday 19th, so tomorrow in a week. But at least we can see the end of the tunnel:

 IS THE LIGHT WE SEE SUNSHINE OR THE TRAIN COMING TOWARDS US ?  

We will see.

Yours,
Master Mike.

Position : 23°00'.0 N and 054°01'.1 W
Day/Time : 31.03.2013 , 12:00 UTC
Mood : Searching !

Other than that , no news really.
 It is the 5th day at sea now, but still some 2800nm to go to Gibraltar.
 And we are not acutally aiming at it either, due to the wind. 
But here we are, as a sailing boat, you can't have it all, except that the forecast indicates an improvement in wind direction and strength from Tuesday onwards, and that in an area above 25 degrees North. 
So we are hobbling along to reach that point and wait for the wind to come. 
Happy Easter I would like t wish you all, and believe me, I am not a bit jellous of you being at home, watching TV, going to the pub , or whatever you do.
 I would not like to change with anybody.
 Happy Easter, be content if you want to, or
 'move your cheese' 
and do something you always wanted but never dared to do. 

Do it , just do it.
 In case of lack of imagination,  here are some ideas:

On Wednesday, 3rd of April and the 8th day at sea, 
we realised that there is a mouse on board.
 I believe it is an irish mouse. 
Most of the chocolate and the biscuits are gone, and still 2 weeks to go if we are lucky. 
The mouse seems to strike at night. 

But the other day it laid a track. 
It was munching on chocolate muffins that Fati had freshly prepared. Choco chips were all over the floor, leaving a trail into the port forward cabin, which is by coincidence Olaf's cabin. 
That it why I think it is most likely an irish mouse.
 But Olaf insists that he did not bring one with him, he only has 2 Canaries at home, of which one died of pneumonia just a few days ago. 
So one bird less in Olaf's life !!!! 
But the mouse is a mystery. I think we have to lay a trap into the pantry to catch it. 
We'll see.

And the sailing by the way is great. 
Good wind ( BF 6-8 ) from the right direction ( South ) drives us back towards our optimal track. 

And only 16-18 days to go. 

Let's have some lunch now. 
Today is (female) Mahi-Mahi Sashimi in Soya Sauce.

 Can't have it fresher than this !


Yours,
Master Mike

DEAR READER, 
THE FOLLOWING STORIES WILL TELL 
THE EVENTS OF OUR WEST-EAST ATLANTIC CROSSING AS IT HAPPENED ! 
ENJOY !!!!

Not without drama though !!!!!!
 Fati had to go to a hospital on the french side in order to have her cough looked after. 
She returned late, 
so we left without her but anchored outside the bridge and waited for her. 
When she arrived 
we set sail and off we went. 
WIth a marvellous wind and direction. 
Perfect !!!!!  ???? Really ?????
And then........ we saw that the mast was tilting in the strong wind. 
Something was utterly wrong. 
Olaf went into the mast to see what but couldn't detect anything. And that at 2am in the morning of the 25th.
And having sailed already for 50nm. 
So I decided,,,,,,,,,, to return to Sint Marteen. 
It was a heartfelt decision. And whilst I write these notes we are still here, and it is Tuesday morning. 
I am devastated. 
And the wind is still in our favour and we are stuck here because the rigger is too busy to look after us. 
I could.......
And then the rigger came and we left....again. 
Tuesday evening, the 26th of March.

AT LEAST BETTER THAN IN THE OLD DAYS !
How easy it is to loose control when the crew gets bored and frustrated. 
Some Captains in the past tried to overcome this with extreme harshness and disciplin. 
But the Mutiny on the Bounty has shown to everybody, that it needs a 
balance between routine on board, professionalism, but also the encouragemnt of the leadership
 - in case of a small sailing yacht the Skipper -  
to keep moral high. 
Fati with her cooking skills is an important factor of that. 
But to be honest, up to now it is so much easier with the girls on board than on the previous trip. 
Everybody helps, and that with a smile, no grumpiness here. 
I am delighted. 
So far so good.

The remaining is work, ie checking the rig when the boat is tilting,

........or re-fuelling .
Nothing for the faint-hearted, so something for the Irish !

And so the days go by. 
One after the other. 
And if you are lucky, you can watch during the night the milky way. 
Who of you knows Polaris, the belt of Orion, knows where Jupiter is with its "follower" Aldebaran, who knows Casseopaia and Sirius, and if you dont, well folk, then you definitely miss something in your life. 
SO START , GET GOING , 
stay out at night, and
watch the stars. 
May be you will find YOURS ? 
But don't fall off the roof !

Good Night !
SLEEP WELL !
yours, 
Master Mike.

Dear Reader, 
we are back in Europe, back in Gibraltar. 
We arrived here this morning , 
Friday 19.04.2013, at 05:15 UTC. 

What a tremendously exciting sight when you approach the straits from the west and you see both continents, Europe and Africa, divided just by a small channel of water, at its narrowest just 12nm apart, ahead of you. 
Many associate the view with .... well , never mind.  
Did anybody ever count the number of ships and seafarers having passed through ? 
And do you remember the film " The Boat " ( "Das Boot" ) ? 
Anyway, we didn't see any of what I just described, as it was late last night and pitch dark. 
Why do we always arrive at the port of destination at night ? 
Always !

So let the story unfold but before that I will go to bed and 

SLEEP LIKE A BABY ! 


Then I will continue with the adventures during our crossing. 
Just give me some hours, only....some....brh. chr....

Hope you will be on standby.

Yours, a very much relieved 
Master Mike !