We are now experiencing a period of light winds resulting in a striking decrease of average speed. Cantare is not a light wind boat, she is an overloaded heavy lady who needs some rough winds to drive her competitors out of the ARC race. In these light winds the competitors teasingly put up their spinnakers and parasails and quickly leave us behind. However, in heavier winds spinnakers and parasails must be taken down and they are struggling with their genoas and gennakers while the heavier winds fill our butterfly sails perfectly and we are increasing speed. To increase the speed in slack winds I have tried the hair drier a number of times, not that effective though. Unfortunately, our drier is a small one used for travelling. We need one of those more effective driers used at the hairdresser's! So now we have come up with another idea of how to improve our ETA in St Lucia: Hitchhiking with a tanker or a cargo ship. Yeah, I know we said we hadn't seen ships in ages, but yesterday morning they suddenly appeared and forced Emelie to change course and give way while Maria and I slept through the busy morning. We are also aware of the fact that large vessels normally wont follow the trade winds but taking the shortest route. So the chances of bumping into another heavy cargo ship or tanker might not be that overwhelming. But we are on the Atlantic Ocean and anything can happen! While waiting for our hitchhiking objects to arrive we try to cure restlessness in the best way we can. I am trying to learn more Spanish with the intention to be able to communicate in Spanish with more people than the bartenders. At the moment I am on the "una cerveza grande por favor"-level.* Emelie has found a sudoku book and is totally absorbed by it. Maria is going to break the world record in the category: number of books read in shortest time. Over and Out! /First Mate Sofia

PS. Our friends on the sail yacht Starfire who had rudder problem have fixed their rudder and are now continuing towards St Lucia! DS

*una cerveza grande por favor = one large beer, please = en stor stark, tack.