Yesterday I was stuck, almost becalmed, in exactly the same place as Marco lost a whole day ruining his chances for a class win (although it ain't over till the fat lady sings...). These calms drive you mad, and there is so little you can do about it once you're in. Maybe we should leave a note on the chart to other sailors to warn them?

Anyhow, late last night, some wind came up. It's amazing how something as ordinary as a little wind can change one's mood! I started calculating (always on the optimistic side...), I only had to average 6 knots to finish before midnight tuesday... I found a New England radio station which had rock/folk songs a bit in the style of The Pogues, and it was fun. I ended this crazy mood by playing ever more rough songs ending with 'A whole lotta Rosy' and the like, and leaving me without a voice.

So there we were, going again. But not for long... At 0200 the wind had died again to some 7 or 8 knots. All night we did quite well, considering the wind, which gradually came back to some 12 or 13 knots, and left us doing 7 odd knots.

Early this morning I was alarmed by my Watchman, that some other vessel was in the neighborhood. Indeed, I could hear it's fog signals! Luckily the AIS caught her signal, and a large vessel passed behind in the fog at a distance of a mile. A the same time, another vessel passed on the other side, but at a somewhat larger distance. It is a strange and scary experience, to hear those fog horns but not seeing anything. And it is surprising how accurate you can estimate where the vessel is.

Now I am sailing over Georges Bank, which is a bank to the West of Massachusetts and the East flank of it incidentally also marks the border between Canada and the United States of America. I'm in the USA now! The water on Georges Bank used to be full of Cod, and full of fishing vessels. But they finished the cod, and although I can hear fishermen on the VHF, so far I haven't seen many.

JanKees Lampe, from La Promesse, told me that a consequence of the extermination of the cod in this whole area is that there is an abundance of lobster, as cod mainly feed on young lobsters. The price for lobster has subsequently plummeted and JanKees has promised the local community to help solve the problem by having me eat so many that the balance would be restored! I can't wait!

Bart

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