35.56N 07.28W  We were given to understand that a Royal Naval vessel would escort all the yachts to Europa point and at 10.00am there would be gun ‘salute’ – in the event the Naval vessel never materialised and if the gun went off we didn’t hear it!  Some boats didn’t join the ‘start’ but made an early getaway (not very team spirited?!) and are now inevitably way ahead of the rest of us………it is not a race!!?

We have been so lucky with the weather – sunny days, fair winds and calm moonlit nights – we could ask for no more.  Our overlapping watch rota is working well

            Michael           8 – 12

            Harriet             10 – 2

            Paul                 12 – 4

            Vic                  2 – 6

            Bennett           4 – 8

            Oscar               6 – 10

This is around the clock and whilst there are always two on watch, gives everyone 4 + 4 hours on ‘duty’, a clear 8 hours sleep after their watch and 8 hours ‘free time’. We are all wearing life jackets and harnesses and clipping on when we enter the cockpit and when we walk around the boat.

I am trying to monitor the food intake to give me a better idea of provisions for longer passages – day one – 24 hours - we consumed

            3 bowls of muesli with milk

            6 ham and egg sandwiches

            5 ham sandwiches

            3 mince pies

            1 banana sandwich

            3 bananas

            15 digestive biscuits

            6 bowls of spaghetti bolognaise with cheese and tomato salad

            2 oranges

            2 bowls of pasta and tomato sauce

This was not consumed in any direct ratio to the number of people on board!

Michael has rigged up the fishing line but no luck yet (one 6 kilo dorado caught by Zipididooda) – we managed to get the Hydrovane self steering system working which involves getting the sails set perfectly in balance before locking off the main rudder, lining up the vane with the wind direction and letting it take over, this means we don’t  have to manually steer over night which is a blessing – but we somehow only left Gibraltar with half a tank of water as it must have been air locked and the water maker had a small leak and wouldn’t  prime but today it is fixed and we have accomplished our first wash in the Atlantic.  We had enough water in the tank for drinking but washing was a ‘kiss and promise’ until today!

The hardest part for me personally was the feeling of sickness which has finally dissipated today. Although the weather is great there is a big swell which is very uncomfortable (Michael’s lee cloth snapped in the night and he fell out of his bunk!) We have depressed the saloon table so he is much more comfortable now and Victor has moved onto the day bed where Michael was.   I am used to achieving a huge amount every day and multi tasking so everything on board at sea feels like a struggle in slow motion – hanging out the washing takes for ever – even finding the teabags, the cups, the milk, the kettle when someone has kindly popped them away in a safe place – going for a wee and struggling with crutch straps and safety lines – making a meal when everything is sliding back and forth – very difficult! A dream? More of a concentrated struggle for me until today!!

The men have been busy day and night, trimming sails, adjusting the Hydrovane, pulling out the main sail, pulling it in again, trying to get the stay sail to gull wing without poles, pushing the spinnaker into its snuffer ready for the right kind of wind to try it out, reading up the instructions on our new Twistle rig (2 sails which gull wing to catch down wind etc.  Our first morning role call confirmed that we were amongst the slowest boats, although we know we are capable of better………. BUT today we managed to get the Twistle working and it is a major miracle!!  Our speed has literally doubled and we are flying along at nearly 8 knots through the night and I even managed to cook a spaghetti carbonara and serve it at the table in the cockpit as the rig steadies the motion of the boat and we are not wallowing any more.

This afternoon we had the generator going, the washing machine on, the boys watching a video, the microwave cooking, the water maker desalinating sea water at 16 gallons an hour, the water heater heating the water, showers working, and MOST important the batteries being charged.

One boat ‘Tapestry’ has steering failure and has been towed back to Gibraltar – the rest are now pretty spread out due to different rigs and sizes – everyone sounds happy and confident… we are catching up a bit and hope to make Lanzarote tomorrow evening.