Just spent an hour cleaning up some strange alien substance from the bilge, thought it was engine oil mixed with sea water but the engine oil is staying put in the engine compartment, then we thought it might be bear or beer and milk and sea water, and then diesel from the leaky filter... it breaks down with dish soap? we are definitly out of the trades, gray day with repeated squalls some of which are endless. The squal hits and all hatches open to the cockpit and everyone throws their dirty laundry out to soak while the helmsman stuffs the nearest garment into the lee cockpit drain with his heal - too much rain, too much wet laundry hanging around the cabin. Jorgen made his first meal today under the direction of our expert Esa : corned beef and mashed potatoes (this is a secret, no one is to know the Jorgen can cook). With the squalls come heavy winds that we run with to the north so we are a ways off our course. We just saw a cargo on our radar which did not respond to our vhf call but an other sail boat did, which we can not see on our radar. Juha is off to bed, as is Jorgen, Esa is in and out checking on Mona and our horizon... Naomi is plowing along at with an APA 48 at 7.5 kts, getting jossled on occasion by the waves. It is the darkest time of night before the moon is up at around 2300, big kiss to you all, i’m off to chat with Esa on watch. xxx p
