Position 32.00.4N 58 03.81W

Thursday 14^th May

Well, the plan to make more northing has been well scuppered by the low building just south and east of us. It’s a fairly fresh system and there’ll be pretty vigorous north east winds in the sector that we are currently inhabiting, so plans have changed, and we’re now pottering south to work anti clockwise round it using the wind to our advantage and keeping out of the nasty bit. We contacted a chap called Herb tonight on the HF radio to get some advice on weather routing. He’s a venerable Canadian of indeterminate years who sits in his eyrie in the north, dispensing valuable advice to yachts crossing the Atlantic or traversing the North American eastern sea-bord.  He’s excellent, but short fused if messed about, so it was good to get his confirmation of or plan. The good news is that we’ll pick up fairly fresh winds to speed progress. Over the ex few days our track should describe part of a circle round the low if it behaves as predicted – watch this space. Other than that the weather’s been idyllic. On watch last night the boat was surrounded by phosphorescence, trails of glittering sparklers in the bow wave, and a rocket like fiery wake streaming behind. Aloft, the sky loomed clear, the faint masthead light tracing and retracing a delicate spiro-graph across the stars. In the cockpit, the silhouette of the wheel stood out against the soft glow of the instrument nights, while from below, stentorian snoring – well you can’t have everything.