We have about 70nm to run to Ponta del Feraria on west end of San Miguel. We are reaching with 2 reefs and full yankee and staysail and doing almost 7nm every hour. Wind 17 – 18 kts NW. It has been a wonderful day’s sailing in shorts and T shirt and now with sun just set and a large swell on the beam it has been a bit of a sleigh ride! The shower and shave (yes 7 days of growth made me look like a gangster!) did a lot of good. Water tanks are quite low now though. Bill has done all the hard work – repaired the spinnaker with some tape ahead of us almost certainly needing it when we pass the headland about 08.00, as well as cooking up a very good parsley box Thai green chicken! In fact the more I think of it, I do wonder quite what I have contributed today….!

We have been busy during the day trimming as the wind has shifted and increased (that is why we took the genoa down yesterday at 22.00 and set the yankee) and putting in reefs – with us both working together on that we are now quite quick!

We had an early supper as it is important to rest as we may have a busy night and tomorrow morning will be busy as I suspect quite a few  yachts will converge on the first occasion since the Manacles off Falmouth 7 days ago. Some may well have gone east but I doubt it if they could avoid it as that would mean a beat to the finish in Ponta Delgada. Bliss – a plucky and very well sailed Dutch lady – is the now almost usual 5nm astern. Single handed this race must be tough and chapeau to those that do it – quite a few of them including Eric on Sea Monster and David on a lovely Rustler 36.

I think we are both quite covered in bruises – I certainly have a bruises along my ‘rump’ where I have braced myself against a corner or whatever as we roll along.

What an amazing sail so far – plenty still to be done and above all the need to be extra vigilant as tiredness sets in. I nearly released the main halliard earlier instead of easing the staysail sheet – DOH! I spotted my idiocy early enough thankfully, but we have both chatted about the need to be even more careful of the simplest of tasks. It is easy to slip or be thrown about with the motion!

Good night – must trim and check course!

Tim and Bill