# birthdays celebrated on board: 1
Hugo turns 12 today, and we’re celebrating in style. Albane’s had the oven on baking for 2 hours and the Moet is in the ‘fridge.
It’s a good thing too since we’ve been becalmed for most of the last 24 hours. Within 200 miles of our destination, it’s asking a lot of the whole crew in terms of patience. Pootling along at 2.5 knots in 5 knots of wind, the parasailor is just about up, pulling us along in approximately the right direction, under a brutal sun – sunbathing the order of the day this morning.
We had better arrive in the next two days or so since there are two more crew birthdays coming up, we’re low on gas, and birthdays MUST have cake!

# Christmas trees decorated: 1
The tree has been up since before we left Las Palmas – a priority not just for the children but the whole family – far more so than stowing all the provisions.
Parents finally yielded and allowed them to decorate it on the 1st December, and it’s the perfect size for the interior.

# shooting stars: 1000s (no really!)
Last night was our Christmas light show.
Clear night of countless (dozens – too many to count – in one hour on watch) shooting stars, sometimes two flashing by at a time, with fewer flaring for a second or more as they arced across the night sky, decorating Orion, Lepus then later Ursa Major.
The fireworks carried on through until sunrise where the last few persistent trails were eventually blanketed by light of the rising sun.