Malua is at 24:14.69N 20:57.79W at 0600 on 23/11/2012

We have covered 404 nm but have 2360 still to go. Over the last two days we have done 142 and 143 over a 24 hour period – not great but very average.

We have had very clear warm days since leaving the Canaries.  The wind has not been great but at least it is blowing from the north.  It is predicted that the ARC will start on Sunday into a southerly – no spinnakers for them.

The watch system we keep is quite flexible.  Piers being young stays up late and sleeps in in the morning so we have created a 3 on 3 off system taking that into account.  It gets day at 7:30 local time which is just after we have eaten our evening meal.  The cook washes up his own mess and then we adjourn to the cockpit to see the darkness fall.  I then go off the my quarter bunk leaving the youngster to do his shift to 11:00 pm.  I then do a three hour shift to 2:00 am and Piers takes over just as the moon is setting.  I am then called at 5:00 for the last shift to 8:00 when I talk on the net.  Piers gets to sleep the extra hour before breakfast.  I see the sunrise just after 7:00 although it gets light around 6:00.

The day has no formal watches although I tend to sleep after lunch and Piers takes a sleep before 5:00pm.  The dinner cook does not cook lunch which was today Mahi Mahi with rice, avocado and tomatoes.  This evening will be fried chicken breast.  Not a bad life.

Last night we did have a scare in that the autopilot was working very hard with a nasty cross swell.  Malua was swinging around under poled out genoa and full main in 10 to 14 knots od true wind.  When I came on watch I noticed the battery bank 1 was down to 11.7 volts.  Well below what I like to keep it.  I switched the autopilot over to bank 2 and hoped the wind generator would put enough charge in it before my next watch.  Unfortunately that was not the case so we had to run the engine for an hour to charge the batteries.  The generator is loosing water so I am not using it until I can solve that problem.

Tomorrow we turn more west to try to get more towards our destinations.  At the moment we are chasing the trade winds which are further south.

A magical moment on Malua