Day 4 Sailing on the Atlantic Ocean

Are we living right?  This is our fourth day sailing on the north Atlantic Ocean and we have had a smooth ride so far.  The air has been cool and its been cloudy.   No ferocious storms out here in the middle of nowhere.

We have been so busy, that there hasn't been time to write or do anything but bridge.  I just wanted to let my loved ones know that we are OK.   We get up in the morning, shower and dress, have breakfast, and then the classes begin  We have 36 beginners, a new record for us.  They are progressing very well and they LOVE Michael.  Next comes the intermediate class that is averaging 9 to 10 tables -- that is 36 to 40 people.  We did not bring enough handouts, so I have been putting our little portable printer on overdrive making copies.   

I made a big mistake, that I won't repeat again.  I came up with the bright idea to premake all the practice boards for the intermediate lessons.  That is making 27 extra boards each day.  Guess what we do after the intermediate lesson?  Shuffle and deal.....

Then it's on to a quick lunch and back to the bridge lounge for the game.  The game goes anywhere from 11 to 15 tables each day (that's 60 people) -- literally a full house.  We spend a lot of time getting the people organized, getting the game up and running.  Yesterday, I had to play with a lady that had no business playing in a duplicate game -- what a long afternoon I had.  Michael and I played together on day 2 and actually scored master points.  Its a tight rope that we walk doing this because if we play too well and win or if we screw up and do lousy, it does't look good for us.  

After the game is over and the scoring is done, it is time to make the boards for the next day.  That is another 26 boards to shuffle and deal.  Then its time for dinner, which can take two hours.  

We have had four time changes since we left Miami, losing an hour each time.  This is really messing up my sleep schedule.  We also found out that we have to work every other port day.  

We have one more day at sea before we get to the Azores.  

So there you have it -- what our days at sea look like.