We have been on passage for a week now since sorting out a slightly fouled anchor and a very corroded anchor winch switch. The switch terminal was so corroded that I had to resort to holding 2 wires together to lift the anchor.

We had a wonderful breeze giving us 6 knots but it soon reduced to the 10 knots that has been typical of our trip so far. With the odd mild squall we have had slow speeds each day. The wind has been generally dead aft which doesn't help as if the boat does begin to sail then the apparent wind of course seems that much less. As a consequence we have been achieving about 4 knots boat speed on average.

On the plus side we have gradually picked up a favourable current that is now about 1 knot so our week's run has been just over 800 miles. In the Trades in the past we have managed about 1000 miles a week so the figure is a little disappointing. However, we have yet to resort to the motor except for a bit of water making and water heating. As we only carry enough fuel for about 500 miles and we have 1500 miles to French Guyana it is just as well.

Our next week may be slower as we are getting closer to the doldrums where we can expect extended periods of calm interspersed with the odd thunderstorm to keep us alert. The band of the doldrums is supposed to be quite narrow on the route we have planned so we may be lucky.

In the last 2 hours we have had a big wind shift to the north east, This is the direction of the Trades north of the equator but as we are still about 04° south of the equator it seems unlikely that this is the start of the change. Anyway the change in direction is very welcome as we are now sailing well on a broad reach without the slatting and banging that is inevitable when sailing downwind in a swelly sea. The downside is that we are heeling a bit!

In other news....well there isn't any really. We fished for the first hour and caught a big dorado which the clever chef has served as Thai green curry, baked with lemon and herb sauce, diced with onions and garlic potatoes, Malaysian style with spice and rice, á la Portuguese, as goujons (the skipper's one offering) etc. It has fed us 8 meals in all! We have seen 2 fishing boats...one brightly lit that we had to alter course for. It seems extraordinary that the first ship in 5 days should be right in our path.

Most of the rest of our time is taken up with reading, watching films, sail fiddling, minor repairs, sewing and the South Atlantic Scrabble Tournament ...current leader is the author 2 games ahead after a plague of Os and Is have struck the contender low.

The rest of the "fleet" are over a 1000 miles behind us except for one other UK boat that is about 250 miles ahead. We can hear those south of us checking in with each other in the morning but ,due to the vagueries of short wave propogation, they cannot hear us, so emails and this occasional blog are our one link to the outside world. Oh and thank you to all those who sent me congatulations for my birthday via facebook. I am not ignoring you all...we simply have had no WIFI for the last 2 months.

So we are well on our way but it is a bit slow ....and hot!