Position                    13:31.67 S 008:38.26 W

Date                          2359 (UTC) Thursday 9 February 2017

Distance run             in 24hrs 151nm over the ground, 147nm through the water

Passage total            227nm over the ground, 221nm through the water

Distance to go          453nm

Planned distance      St Helena to Ascension 705nm

Other than adjusting the pole twice during the day as the wind angle varied this was an uneventful day of good downwind sailing.  IT may be uphill on the chart but from our perspective it is downhill sailing.  It is getting noticeably warmer and with a virtually cloudless day the power generated by the solar panels at 120Ah (24v) was one of the best recorded.  The Watt and Sea hydrogenator is putting out about 5 amps, the rate would double if we were averaging 7 knots, so 120Ah from that.  This gives us a total of 240Ah for 24 hours.  Over 50%, possibly 70%, of our consumption goes on powering the three fridges, the larger of which is running as a freezer which accounts for why we still require to run the generator for 2 one hour sessions overnight to keep that batteries at a high level and make water.  Dinner tonight chilli con carne made during the day with ostrich mince with enough for a second meal in the fridge.