I was lucky enough to get the early night watch along with James last night – 8pm to midnight. Wow, what a spectacle. I’ve never seen so many stars. It’s very hard to ‘keep watch’ looking for other boats on the horizon when there is so much fascinating scenery above you. We get a dark period of a few hours between about 8pm and 10pm when the stars are out but the moon isn’t up yet so the skies are very dark and there are billions of stars everywhere. Stunning.

We had a bit of excitement yesterday afternoon. Our first catch! We caught a yellow fin tuna. It was all hands on deck and chaos everywhere while we looked for gloves to haul it in, a camera to catch the moment, something to bash it over the head with, etc. etc. When we finally got it onto the swim deck it wasn’t as impressive as we’d hoped and while we were so busy deciding if it was enough for a meal or if we should throw it back, that the clever little fish managed to unhook itself and wriggle off the deck back into the sea. Hurrah for the fish. Better luck for us (and bigger fish!) next time we hope. James and I got both lines out at 8am this morning so we’re hoping for a fish supper!

We’ve also been having a little fun with our mascot Captain Pugwash. So far he’s been seen guarding the potatoes, out on watch and attempting to steer the boat. Watch this space for more of his adventures J

Justine