Yesterday evening we finally got across the area of no wind and picked up a NNE wind from a small high pressure to our NW. Since then we have been on full sails fully sheeted in trying to beat upwind until the wind veers to the E and eventually SE.
Epiphany is a lovely boat but she is not so great heading into wind. She has no battens in her main so it has a big leech cut away which reduces her power quite a lot. On the plus side it means she reefs easily into the mast and if we get his by a squall she can normally manage without a reef. Anyway it means our progress was a little slow overnight and this morning. Topaz Rival (photo) came by us at sunrise managing 0.5-1knots more speed even though they are smaller than us. It may also be our weight. We are full of water and diesel still and most of the possessions from the family, plus enough cans to get us all the way to Gibraltar.
Anyway apart from being a little slower than most of the fleet the sailing is quite nice and steady. Once the unwind veers later today it should work a bit better for us.
Matt
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