Tonight the wind and sea are up again and we are pitching and slamming into and off the waves. I have eased off to the west a little but we cannot afford to lose too much easting if we are to pick up the favourable weather system later this week. However both comfort and speed have improved.

Oliver is really getting into the swing of things. I can sleep soundly when he is on watch and he will make any necessary adjustments to the sails and steering. Conscious of his limited leave time he is anxious to crack on and keep our speed up. We put waypoints on the plotter that look like near targets to aim for until you zoom out and realise they hundreds of miles apart! With sailing long passages - ours is 2200 miles - you have to get used to balancing speed, comfort and wear and tear!

We lugged the original Bruce anchor down to the foredeck this morning with a view to swapping with the newer ROCNA that rattles when waves hit it. However we found that by repositioning the ratchet strap the ROCNA could be better secured and we are rattle free again. We lugged the Bruce back to the cockpit lazarette.

Our standard of cuisine is rising. Chilli eggs and baked beans for breakfast, Mediterranean couscous with tinned tuna and sautéed vegetables for lunch, a cross between tartiflette and mousaka for supper with potatoes, aubergine, onion, chorizo, cream and Gruyère cheese. How about that for sailing comfort food?!