We are 10 days in to our Atlantic odyssey and tonight we should reach the half way point and we will have sailed 1390 miles. The crew are all on fine form. Our trusty fisherman has now caught 5 fish. Most have been about 1 -2 lbs. We have kept two of them and eaten them for lunch on a couple of days. There are reports throughout the fleet of boats catching huge fish. On board Nyda, our friends caught a 19lb dorado a few days ago....and have been eating it ever since!

 

To celebrate making it to the half way point, we have planned a fantastic feast tonight with champagne and roast beef, Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings! Julia has been working hard to make our fresh meat last this long (it is 11 days since we took delivery of our meat). As we do not have a freezer, this is quite a feat! Most of the fresh veg has now gone and we have some apples, oranges and kiwi left which should stop us all getting scurvy!

 

The last couple of days have seen slightly stronger winds so we have dispensed with the parasailor and set up a poled out genoa and the main with a preventer. This combination is working well. However we were concerned that the spreaders would chafe the sail, so yesterday I went up the mast to attach some protection to the spreaders to stop this.  Not too difficult in the marina, but out here it was swinging wildly and proved quite a challenge. I now have the bruises to remind me of how much it swung!

 

We have also been enjoying our music as we have been progressing. The new stereo system on the boat works really well and allows us to have the music on in the main cabin as well as in the cockpit. Tastes are varied and we have all been enjoying listening to each others choices (although I did have to put my foot down about Boney M!!!).

 

With reaching the half way point, the mood on board has changed slightly and there is much talk of when we will arrive, what it will be like, what we will do when we first get there and what we are looking forward to. One thing we won't need to worry about is having a good meal!! It is all great fun and being enjoyed by all of us.

 

John