In our boat, the watch is a bit special. The captain is in charge of the night shift while the crewwoman is in charge of the evening and morning shifts. We have chosen this distribution so that at least one adult is fit during the day to manage our adorable but demanding children
Seasickness attacks
Unfortunately, in the morning, the situation was different: a nasty, messy swell had risen. This combined with an upwind point of sail where the boat is constantly hitting, is the perfect recipe for a good sea-sickness. If Guillaume is not sensitive to it, it is not the case for the rest of the crew.
The bucket sweep has begun! How can you tell how long the time is under these conditions? Luckily we have a ready-made olive cake for lunch, although no one has much of an appetite. Cooking is out of the question anyway.
The suspended time is finally broken by the VHF which starts to sputter in English. A glance at the AIS allows us to see half a dozen warships and we don't like that very much.
An unexpected change of route
Suddenly, the war fleet addressed us in English on the VHF and ordered us to change course and not to approach them. We have the impression that they are approaching us at high speed rather than the other way around. We have to obey and we change course to let them pass.
A moment later, we have huge military ships above and below us, with helicopters buzzing around. We are a bit tense, feeling really small next to all these people. But when they have passed, the squadron thanks us on the VHF for our cooperation and wishes us a good afternoon!
An eventful arrival in Scilly
Unfortunately, as we were dropping the anchor, we realized that the chain had collapsed on itself in the anchor locker and got stuck. We had to try four times to get it unstuck and anchor properly. It is almost midnight when we turn off the engine, completely rinsed.
