42:21N  23:57W

We have made good progress in the last 24 hours, covering 175nm and are now 850nm from Ushant.  An area of low pressure swept over us during the night, bringing strong winds and heavy seas, but they were mostly from astern so we were able to continue down the planned track, albeit with very little sail up!  We are now some 30nm north of the straight line track, which we will hold in the bank in case strong westerlies try to push us into the Bay of Biscay later in the passage.

None of us got much rest last night, so we are hoping for a quieter 24 hours ahead: so far, things look more settled.  The boat is in good shape with no new defects and morale onboard is high, with one of our ‘signature’ fruit cakes in the oven...  We are hoping that the rain will stop, the sun come out and we can peel off some layers of clothing before arriving in the Solent!

Richard, Peter and Dave