Greetings All,
So progress indeed, we have now reached the halfway point (slightly less than 1400 miles left to run) and the wind has picked up and we are currently making good progress under twin headsails. The weather continues to be warm and sunny, with the gribs suggesting the wind and general weather should continue for the coming few days at least, although there are some light winds we need to try to avoid as we reach the weekend. We have unfortunately now slipped to second in class, so all efforts are now on improving our boat speed and reclaiming our crown!
We finally managed to spot dolphins yesterday, we had a small pod swimming around the boat and playing in the surf around the bow for around 20 mins, which was very nice, however we are also still hopeful of spotting some whales before the trip is done.
Yesterday was very much an onboard admin day, with laundry in full swing as well as a few measures to preserve some of the fruit and veg - we now have a large amount of tomato sauce and also blacked peppers ready for the next round of experimental cookery!
The night skies here remain fantastic, the moon has now wained and it does mean the night sky is very dark (along with the complete lack of light pollution) which means the star gazing really is quite amazing.
All is well here, we are continuing to work our way through the food mountain and making good progress on the cake front and if we manage to eat all the Mahi-Mahi tonight, we can resume fishing again tomorrow!
Everyone has relaxed into the watch patterns now and is getting lots of sleep (regardless of movement of the boat), Katy is now happily standing night watches on her own and overall moral on DoL is good!
As you would no doubt expect, we are all taking safely seriously and are clipped on at all times - this applies even to Archie!
Best Wishes
Tony, Katy, John & Mark.
Archie-Small