Day 27 - The Boat!

At 6 o'clock I woke up to the sound of the engine. The night was actually comfortable, but quite warm. I went straight to the deck, getting dressed quickly. Rule number 1 applies: no shoes, not even flip-flops for the next 5 days.

El Capitan just started to sail out, all powered by the engine. It was a great scenery, maybe it comes across a bit on the pictures.

Let me describe "The Boat" to you. The catamaran is about 15 meters long and 6 meters wide. Including the crew, there are 15 people on the boat. There are 2 single cabins, 2 double cabins, 2 semi-private cabins with a "double bed", 2 toilets and a galley. Then there is the salon with a crew bed (we take turns depending on watch duty), navigation table, radio, etc., as well as another double bed. All beds are occupied. One of the crew members sleeps in the salon with a couple from Holland. The other two crew members sleep on deck, next to the covered dining area.

We only have small luggage, the large backpacks are stowed away. Every possible storage space is used. Fruit 🍇 and vegetables 🌶 are hanging on deck in nets.

So everything is very cramped. And now imagine cramped - it's not enough - even tighter!

If you want a sailing trip with privacy, you shouldn't book something like this. And the girl from Switzerland and a Dutch girl were quite shocked when they saw their board yesterday. It is exactly as I imagined it. On the one hand, I looked at the pictures on the internet very carefully, on the other hand I have definitely seen the movie "Das Boot" about 39 times 😆

But I think it's pretty cool here, especially since you will be on deck most of the time anyway, and catamarans offer much more space than conventional boats - that's why we're sailing on a catamaran.

Breakfast was served around 8 o'clock, then sunbathing on deck. Very hot, not a cloud ⛅️ in the sky and very little shade (we are still sailing without sails).

After 1 hour, I sat under the roof with my book - strangely enough, all (!) men did the same, all the women stayed in the sun. Mono caught fish for lunch, but unfortunately didn't catch anything. So we had wraps with delicious sauces and salad. Mono can cook!

Meanwhile, the foresail was set. It provides a bit of shade and additional propulsion. The engines are still running because the wind is not strong enough to keep to the schedule.

The seasickness is starting now as well. Currently, England is leading in the fish feeding competition with one point 👍🇬🇧

We spent the rest of the day reading and sunbathing. Since we are sailing almost exactly west with a course of 249 degrees, we are heading straight towards the sunset 🌅 - ideal for romantic photos.

The sea state has increased quite a bit, which was good for the fish feeding contest. Current score: England 4, Holland 3, Switzerland 4, Austria 0, Germany 0. Julia is a bit weak, but I think we can keep our clean record. Today, except for me, no one is drinking a beer anymore - because of the few waves - the youth are not used to it 😜.

The crew is having fun and is supplying the affected ones with salted limes - it's supposed to help against nausea.

El Capitan says that tomorrow at ten o'clock we will reach calm waters and the first island.

I'm now lying in the bunk, Julia is already sleeping. The sea state is getting rougher and rougher. I hope everyone sticks to rule number 2: "Throw up out of the boat, not into it."