19.04n 46.27W  Three pretty uneventful days have slip slid by – the clocks have gone back for our leg time so we are now minus 4 UTC – Antigua time.  The days are very short with the sun set around 17.30 and once the light goes there is not much we can do – lights drain the batteries so apart from computer work or a film we are fairly limited.  The moon rises behind us each night and seemingly chases us as she casts a silvery path leading right up to our bow.  Interesting to get everyone’s position each morning on the radio – 35 skippers who have all taken a completely different course and strategy – some risking the ‘rum’ line (straight across but with a risk of more variable weather),  some scooping down a bit, like us, on around 19/20 degree latitude whilst some have gone down as far as 17 degree latitude.  Time will only tell who was wisest.

Roast potatoes, burgers, caramelised onions for dinner last night and fillet pork chow mein the night before so we are very well catered for on the food front.

The generator seems to be on more than we planned to enable the water maker to do its business but as fast as we make it, with five on board, it seems to evaporate?! 

The fridges are a puzzle – our voltage is up but they both keep collapsing which is a worry with so much food still in them and the weather getting warmer.

Frustratingly after such a rip roaring passage to date the wind altered course at around midnight last night and is now coming from the South (we obviously need Easterly winds right behind us for our Twistle to work) so we are attempting to go in the right direction with a small stay sail and the main but only achieving around 3 – 4 knots.  (We cannot put out the genoa unless we take down the Twistle as the poles are attached – although if the wind doesn’t change this could be an option)  Zippy do da has caught us up and appeared on the horizon a few minutes ago – the first yacht we have seen since we left Lanzarote!  We did see a merchant vessel the other night – she passed our bow about a mile away from us and we could hear her for miles on channel 16 talking to other yachts telling them her intentions and how she was going to overtake them.

The tow generator’s propeller has chaffed its way almost through its rope – we just saved it in time before we lost it (the second propeller) – what to do?  We need the amps so perhaps we will try a different propeller on a longer line….

It’s 12.30 Sunday 2^nd December and it’s raining today, Bennett has been up since 3.30 so has collapsed in bed, Oscar is also asleep and whilst at the chart table typing my blog  I have just heard Paul tell Michael that on inspection of the Twistle which he has dismantled so we can hoist our Genoa (conventional sail system)  he can see that it is broken!! Oh dear!!  The lower securing eye has bent and snapped but we think we can lash something to it like a shackle to get it operational as far as Antigua – then we will need to seek more permanent repairs possibly getting the stainless steel re fabricated?  The question is what are we doing wrong for this to happen? 

For anyone thinking of sailing the Atlantic it is far more important to have electrical, mechanical and engineering knowledge with a good dollop of practical skills than actual sailing acumen – I think  all the yachts  would agree that it is a case of non stop running repairs…….. we are very fortunate to have so many skilled men on board!!

Our address in Antigua until around the 17^th December is  Anahi, Blue Water Rally, Care of Jolly harbour marina, box 1793, St John's, Antigua, West Indies – we would love to hear from you!  After that date we make our way around to English harbour anchorage.  We are not sure of our arrival date in the light of the wind change……..