I'm happy to report that the Nasdaq crew DO remember what to do with a spinnaker. Our Code 3 (heavyweight spinnaker) went up smoothly yesterday morning, and gave everybody some quick refresher training, before making way for the Code 2 (mediumweight spinnaker) after lunch, which gave us a decent increase in speed and direction. The Code 2 (mediumweight spinnaker) then stayed up for the rest of the day, before a tangled line meant it had to come down just before (local) midnight. We didn't really want to take it down as we were going so well with it, and it apparently didn't want to come down. It gave Port "Shippers" Watch a real wrestling match under the stars. Everything sorted and the Code 2 (mediumweight spinnaker) was re-packed ready for Starboard "Bulls" Watch to re-hoist, and we are now moving well again.
All of this activity was deliciously fuelled by Tim Lewis and Kathi Lind-Mottram in the Nasdaq Bistro - their Irish Vegetable Dhal was unexpected but tasty, and their ginger cake with white chocolate topping didn't last long either.
Having noticed the apparent lack of wildlife for a few days previously, the crew were interested in my speculation that we might see more as we passed over the Vitoria Seamount (a submerged mountain), and were naturally disappointed when nothing else appeared. Luckily for me, a pair of whales surfaced a few boat lengths in front of our bow in the afternoon. For any keen whale-spotters reading this, they were big grey ones.
Cheers, Rob