Christmas on board is certainly something different. Even though we had a nice meal with fresh vegetables and a big dessert, we only had limited time. And that was pretty much the extent of the coziness. The weather had very little mercy with us. We had reduced the watches to a minimum with only three people on deck so that most of us could celebrate together down below. At least the sun showed from time to time.

After the meal everyone started opening the gifts and cards they had been given. Also we received our Secret Santa gifts. I got an “advent calendar” which holds a small treat for each day until my birthday. Thanks a lot to my Secret Santa for this wonderful idea.

While the wind continued to build I spent most of today in the galley, preparing the meals for everyone with Bruce. We are doing this together since we left Spain jn September. No wonder we both felt a bit nostalgic when we realised that there are probably just two more days left until Bruce will leave us in Airlie Beach to resume his normal work. It is nice if everything just works because we know each other so well by now. Thank you Bruce for all those shared moments.

In the coming days the front will reach us, which has brought us the increasing winds over the past few days. After that we are expecting lighter winds until we get around Tasmania. And then we will finally start heading north again. Until then we have a few more days left in the Southern Ocean.