Wind

For the last 72 hours we’ve been rolling downwind at 6-7 knots, under twin poled headsails. The seas are lumpy, with at least 2 cross swells, but our little CPT autopilot is managing them silently and effectively. I don’t know how it would cope on a lumpy reach, but at the moment we are all praise or our new helmsman.

Grib files give us 18 knots of wind for the next 3 days, which is good news indeed. With 520 miles to go we should be fairly close by mid-week.

It’s getting warmer, with occasional evening thunderstorms but no excessive breeze. Around us are large sargassum weed patches and flying fish galore. No seabirds and no dolphins. Something must be chasing those flying fish, but what? This part of the ocean is not noted for its fish life, I’m told.

I am getting a bit bored and I’m sleeping a lot. Ian’s secret is rigorous structure to each day. Meals, cocktails, ablutions all have their times and places. He spends a lot of energy in the galley and has done all the cooking, producing fine and hearty meals. He has a great urge to cook kedgeree but I have been stodgy in my resistance. Bless his heart, Ian is irrepressibly enthusiastic and energetic. An excellent crewmate.