Christmas on board somewhere in the South Atlantic

Christmas on board somewhere in the South Atlantic
It’s Christmas! It doesn’t
matter whether you share my childish enthusiasm for this day of days or not,
Christmas is still Christmas…there is no escaping it! Downstairs we are fully
decorated with hanging sparkling Christmas baubles and trees – there is a
Christmas cake on the side and we have already discussed the small matter of
Christmas dinner, roast lamb with typical English Christmas pudding for dessert
(might have to forsake the burning brandy, fire at sea and all that!). In a
small way everyone has made their festive preparations…some people have been
loaded up with gifts and tokens from home, Linda has a traditional fruit cake as
well as a bottle of Champagne and we’ll dig up from the cellar the specially
purchased New Zealand wine from Emmanuel and Kajo. Adding it all together with
mulled wine and cheese and biscuits we’re definitely in for a festive
celebration!

And what of the weather? This is always a common question
from us in the Northern Hemisphere when it comes to Christmas day! Well we can
report that it is not yet 20 degrees as hoped and maybe the shorts will stay
packed up for another day or two but it is getting warmer, slowly but surely.
Today we had almost an entire day of brilliant blue skies and sunshine and, if
you sat out of the wind, it got pretty toasty! This night has been mild as
well…we may be reluctant to give up our trusty layers of thermals but our
jackets are lying on the side of the deck unnecessary as yet. How quick we have
all been to adapt to ‘fair weather sailing’, despite the rounding being an
amazing experience I’m sure most people here would think twice at the idea of
returning further south than the 50 degrees line for a couple of weeks at least!

We are almost halfway to our destination of Buenos Aires. The other day
we were treated to a little bit of a tango lesson from our resident expert David
– who is also a ‘Tango DJ’. The talk of the mood and spirit of the Argentine
people really got us feeling excited about where we are heading too, even if the
locals might not appreciate our ‘sea-salty’ attire, preferring slightly more
glamorous dress! (according to our guidebook). Well, I’m sure we can dig deep
into our packed belongings to find some snazzy outfits for a New Year
celebration! Until then it’s sunshine and fair weather all the way. The wind is
currently variable right now, the engine is on for a bit until it settles but
the stars and the moon are bright and the sea flat calm, a wonderful way to
start a Christmas day.

So, from my overexcited self (yes, my presents are
waiting at the end of my bed!) and the rest of the Tecla crew, Merry Christmas!
We send even more love and good wishes to our friends and family on this festive
day and wish everyone excellent eating and drinking and relaxing (enjoy all your
traditional snoozes in front of the TV!) Think of us sitting on deck in this
lovely starry night singing Christmas carols loudly (although our voices are
appalling so rather thank Father Christmas you’re not really here to endure it!)
With love, the Red Watch.
Tralalalalaaa