51) 1,053nm ENE of Barbados

Thursday 12.15.05 342pm, 15° 28.635 N 41° 36.785 W

1,053nm ENE of Barbados, 941nm WSW of The Cape Verde Islands off Africa

We’re still sailing slightly to the north due to the wind conditions.  There’s a great chance that we will head to Martinique instead of Barbados because the winds are not making it easy for us to get to that latitude very easy.  The weather report we just got says that it is better for us to keep heading west and not go south because the winds might be too light in the south.

A pod of about 20 Atlantic Spotted Dolphins joined us for 20 minutes or so. They were very active riding the bow and jumping too.  That was a nice distraction.  Lots of things on the boat have stopped working and subsequently been fixed since leaving Italy.  Today, the generator won’t stay running.  There was/is a water leak from its anti-siphon valve.  We’re obviously conserving water and fuel now.  I don’t think the water maker works.  This place is filthy.  John makes jokes and says, “Here comes the garbage scow”!  And on top of that, the diesel exhaust smell is bad enough and then you put the stink of Alan with it and oh shit it sucks.  Literally without exaggerating he is the most rancid smelling person I have ever come across.  John is too polite to tell him and, I just don’t want to tell him.  He still will not modify his driving and he is all over the place so why try to teach him something else.  I have given up.  He watches me at the wheel and I sit with my hands on my lap and touch the wheel every once in a while.  He can’t figure out how I can drive and make it look so easy.  I told him again that he is the problem.  He turns the wheel too much and he is causing the entire problem.