17:09.23N 028:34.037W

Miles done:  230   Miles to go: 1893

Engine (touch wood, fibreglass, gelcoat) and all associated parts working well so we got out of the harbour and turned left without difficulty.  Sea state has been very benign so far.  We have the Atlantic roll from side to side which we are getting used to again but only occasionally has the sea got up into anything more uncomfortable.  Long way to go though and plenty of time for squalls and being thrown around.  The wind is at a somewhat irritating angle that doesn’t allow us to achieve our favoured speed of 6 knots as yet and we have had a current working against us so far but that should change as we proceed.  It is great having so many pairs of hands to help with the sail changes.

Moyra, Kit, Seafaring and Michael all settled in well with patches, pills and ginger biscuits deployed as necessary to keep the mal de mer at bay.

We check into the radio net at 8am local time every day and are pleased to know that we are now part of the ‘Vessels under way’ section.  The net controller calls up each one in turn and we give our position, miles to run,  wind, sea state, weather and ‘All’s well on board’ report.  We can follow the others and hear what their conditions are.  We also get to hear who has caught fish and what lures they used – bright pink fluffies seem to be the most successful so Mike and Michael set up our handline yesterday and made a start for a couple of hours before sunset.  No luck but plenty of time.  Once the formal bit of the net is over they open up to ‘traffic’ ie general chit chat, requests for advice and hot tips.  This morning the main query was yoghurt making.  These are the issues.  For our readers who may some day need to make yoghurt while rolling from side to side the issue is that this agitates the yoghurt as it is making and tends to separate out the whey in the process.  I had pellets of cream cheese form on top one morning.  The answer is to give it a good stir or stick it on top of the cooker while it is brewing so that the gimbals take care of the roll.