Banque Populaire V charges south. Image copyright Banque Populaire/BPCE.
by Brian Thompson (on board Banque Populaire V)
Leaving the tropics now after 5 days in the heat, its just getting a little cooler in the cabin. It was pretty steamy in the forward cabin with 12 people taking turns sleeping in the 4 bunks, and no fans, just a little ventilation from the daggerboard compartment just forward..
Yesterday afternoon, Florent went up in the outside of the mast for a check, whilst Kevin went up the inside of the mast to see any possible problems on the inside. The mast tube is enormous, easily room for a big lad like Kevin. Nothing amiss on the mast, and the next mast check might not be till after Cape Horn in flatter waters again.
Past Rio now and still heading South in order to meet a low pressure system that is forecast to take us all the way across the South Atlantic and on past the Cape of Good Hope. We are awaiting this expres train to pull into the station, we have bought our tickets and are ready to depart, hopefully in the next 24 hours, but there may be leaves on the track or the wrong kind of snow…
Surprising how few birds have seen so far, not one bird from the start till just before the doldrums when we saw a couple of tiny black petrels. Looking forward to seeing the soaring Albatrosses in a few days.
Brian Thompson
Banque Populaire V
