38:46.8N 35:12.5W

75 miles in conditions varying from no wind to a good 15 knots. See below ("What do you do if there's no wind?") for a discussion of our present condition. Today' blog tries to answer this and other questions that we think you might be asking ...

How much water is Neroli carrying?

We have two tanks holding a total of 660 litres –over half a ton. We also carry over 100 litres of fresh water in bottles in case the tanks are compromised in any way by leaks or contamination. With no washing, and using sea-water for cooking, that could have lasted us from Bermuda to Horta.

How do you produce additional water?

Neroli’s reverse osmosis water-maker can produce up to 60 litres an hour of excellent water, so we have plentiful supplies for cooking, showers and washing. The water costs less than £1 for 100 litres, is purer than rain-water and tastes excellent.

Doesn’t this method mean that the water has no electrolytes?

We get all the salts and minerals we need from our rich and varied diet, complete in every respect except for the absence of fresh fish.

Where is Paddy now?

Locked in his room studying The Complete Guide to Atlantic Fishing.

Where does the electricity come from?

A diesel-powered generator produces about one kilowatt, using about a litre an hour of fuel. We run this for a few hours each day to charge the batteries and operate the water-maker. The main engine drives two alternators but uses four times as much fuel as the generator and is only run towards the end of the voyage when there is no wind.

What do you cook on?

The stove burns Butane. We have five large cylinders and recently started the fourth.

What provisions do you have for medical emergencies?

We have a comprehensive kit of medical supplies that Paddy assembled.

What’s the lighting like?

As well as complete deck and navigation lights, Neroli is fully lit below decks with conventional bulbs. She also has red lighting to protect the night vision of the person on watch.

How many days food did you take on board?

For this leg of the journey (Bermuda to Horta) we planned for 18 days plus a reserve of 7 days. This included 12 frozen meals, and others to be prepared from fresh, frozen or packaged ingredients. We’ve eaten a mix of frozen and prepared meals and still have three frozen to go.

What do you do for exercise?

With the continuing need to shift weight and maintain balance, along with sail-handling and other activity, we seem to burn a surprising number of calories. Despite a hearty diet most crew members have probably lost a few pounds.

We’ve heard about dolphins, turtles and fish; what about birds?

We’re often accompanied by a few seabirds. We believe these are mostly Cory’s shearwater; but we have also seen Leach’s storm petrel – especially at night, when their darting, swooping flight makes them appear almost like bats. This morning we saw a group of shearwaters fishing opportunistically when “our” dolphins (regular visitors now by night and day) had evidently driven a school of fish to the surface – or close enough for the shearwaters to dive on them.

How do you navigate?

Neroli carries a very full set of instruments including a chart plotter which is a small computer with electronic charts. We generally work towards a position, called a waypoint, that we put into the plotter, so we can keep a check on our daily progress.

The GPS in the chart plotter provides a very accurate position, and if it were to fail we have a back-up.

And of course with Allan and Paddy taking frequent sextant sights, we can always revert to the traditional approach to fixing our position.

How do you steer?

Much of the time Neroli is steered by either the Hydrovane – a mechanical self-steering gear that keeps us at a set angle to the wind; or the Autopilot – an instrument-based system that can steer relative to the wind or on a fixed course. When conditions call for it we revert to hand steering.

What do you do if there’s no wind?

This is a good question for today. With less than 300 miles to go, and the Azores High seemingly entrenched for the summer, we are now motoring. We’re watching our fuel consumption and ready to revert to sailing any time we can.

When do you expect to reach the Azores?

Mariners are traditionally reluctant to predict times of landfall ... but we're getting closer.

How do you feel about finishing the journey?

We know that we’ll be absolutely elated to complete our voyage. We also expect some very mixed feelings about concluding this part of what has been, and continues to be, a wonderful experience.