The predicted area of low pressure made itself felt yesterday evening and we hove to under storm job and a bit of mainsail all night.  At one point the barometer fell fifteen mbars in five and a half hours. There is some sort of scale which predicts the likely wind strength from a given fall in pressure. Conditions were far from pleasant. 

 

A pint of tea accompanied by a pint of porridge for breakfast this morning improved the look of the day. The barometric pressure was steady and the winds seem to die down a bit.  We sailed deeply reefed for three hours to try and regain some of the ground lost when hove to.  After that the pressure started to rise (as we gradually emerged from the other side of the depression), and accompanying that the wind rose once more.  We returned to being hove to, and are currently going slowly backwards on the ideal track.  The forecast suggests easier winds tomorrow. 

 

The birdlife seems unaffected by the high wind.  Birds continue to swoop along the gullies between waves and demonstrate unfazed aerobatic ability. 

 

42:52.77N 54:10.96W