"Radio France"

During the night we motor-sail from 02am to 08am. At dawn the spinnaker comes up and pulls us up to a 4 to 41/2 knots. Another hot bikini-sail southward.

We have two boats on our circular horizon now, port, aft and a white triangle of a sail styrboard, forward. So what sort of lights did they have on last night?
Soon the radio is active with conversation, en francaise. And Ørnulf joins in this little "Radio France" on the vhf, ch.72. A jolly, friendly group, Ørnulf has no problem being welcomed into the exchanges of position, weather, sailing reports with his school-french. They have come from El Hierro, west in the Canaries and are "Changa", "Cap Eol" and "Yaka Yale".

Another quiet sail with reading, a little flute-playing and exercises on our "Christina"-invented stretch-thingy made of shock-cord with garden-hose handles.
Later on, come evening, the wind increases and we have a goose-winged genoa, still later, with two reefs in the main sail. Real wind,at last.

The sun calls it a day, bright as a red balloon falling under our blue table-top sea. Venus takes over, playing moon and sending a slippery silver pathway along the black water. Until the real thing rises, jack-o-lantern orange, in the east.