Okay I think I am starting to see what the buzz about cruising (as opposed to sitting in marinas waiting for work to be done). I am currently sitting 240 Nautical miles (about 430 kms) off the coast of Morocco on a rhum line to Las Palmas Gran Canaria and everything is going to plan. Let me paint a picture of the last 48 hours.....
Friday night, off the coast of Portugal, after cooking Duck a l'Orange for the crew ( yeah I know Macca, I'm a disgrace but you will also be pleased to know that at least one of the crew was not feeling well on Saturday) I go up to the helm to start my shift at 2000hrs and as everyone wanders off to bed I grab Tom Waits to keep me company. I look out from under the bimini (roof) and the sky is alive with stars!!! The moon was late rising and there was not a cloud in the sky! I went inside and grabbed the remote, clipped onto the life lines and lay on the front deck under the genoa steering to the wind - it was simply magical. No engine noise, just the sounds of the sea, sails and of course Tom singing blue valentines in my ear - hang on that sounds a bit gay - let's try -Tom Waits on my iPod.
I didn't  think it could get much better than that - night time sailing off shore is an experience not to be missed - but it did. Last night (Saturday 20th Dec) I had the 2300 shift and spent it silently sailing at the helm. The helm seat is positioned such that you can lie down and get a great view of the night sky - again filled with stars - in between scanning the horizons for ships heading in and out of Gibralter Strait. In the first ten minutes, I had seen my first shooting star for the night and then I noticed the phosphorescent sparkles twinkling (again sounds gay but that is the way it was) in the wake of the boat. By the end of shift I was enjoying the peace, beauty  and contemplative space so much I let Karen have another hour sleep before I woke her.
Well that was a great decision - soon after I woke her and as we were handing over the watch I noticed a dolphin glide by. It was a weird sensation because at first it made no sense - how could I have seen this is the pitch black water? Soon I realised he was not alone. There was at least a dozen dolphins playing beside the boat, lit by the phosphorescent sparkle, their trail was visible through the water. As the breached the wave, sparkling wake broke from their sides. The show continued for at least another half an hour until I could stay awake no more.
But wait there's more - the ultimate husband's experience - today I introduced Karen to the port engine room and the daily maintenance routine we need to undertake on the diesels. It was beautiful- Karen with paper towels taking oil levels, cleaning the bilge of water and left over coolant from the installation and complaining that it was cramped in there! Now picture me in the same space and she thinks she's got problems!
With that the other daily chores also need to be done, trolling for fish - my brand new spoon lure recommended by Paul and Barb was taken in the first five minutes and no nibble on the rope and alfoil replacement – see below - as yet after 5 hours), having BLTs cooked up by Mark,enjoying beers and nibblies in the salon by Priscilla and sunning on the foredeck on watch handover with Karen.  ........Sorry guys I wouldn't be working for quids!

Cheers & Merry Christmas
Karen and Matt