18:48.27N 34:56.05W

1516 nautical miles covered ....... ( 1517 nautical miles to go !!– though this is as the crow flies, so will end up being more)

FINALLY the weather has turned and it is calm with entirely pleasurable sailing. This also means we can boom out the genoa – which in turn means we won’t be zig-zagging so much on and off the course as more often than not the wind now comes directly from behind, which means we’ll get to Antigua quicker.

Today we will have reached the HALF WAY point, more or less! Wow. That went quick..? We don’t drink any alcohol whilst sailing but if we did I’d have a small shot to celebrate! A swig of my tea instead ... Half way!

Not so much to say really. Erwin and I are still a little tired from the night watches but both the day and night has become soooo much calmer and hence more relaxing and more enjoyable. We are still winding down from the heavy seas of our first week though!

Girls are doing amazingly well, they have adapted to the boat so well and spend their days in happy occupation of some sort or the other. We’re doing school, but it’s a minimal day as I do not have the full energy for it. You don’t realise how much the movement of the boat affects you either – unconsciously we spend all day moving our bodies in counteraction to the boat’s movements and by the end of the day everyone is in need of sleep. I am using muscles I didn’t know I had and everything is pulling in tight ( ish ) – happy days!

We’ve had absolutely no sightings of ships since the sailing yacht ‘ Bliss’ on our first day, which we expected ( even within the ARC – where around 300 boats leave with the same course, at the same time many do not see another boat - after the first two days - until arrival at St Lucia!). It’s a huge place this Atlantic Ocean and it is quite strange to think we are here in the middle of it, a tiny blob miles from land and with no-one, absolutely no-one else around. Thank goodness for satellite phones! Modern technology, I love it. To be able to have this level of peace and solitude, to experience this adventure, together with our children with a safety net of sorts. Not so long ago you did this alone, fully, fully alone. Anyway, not wishing to dwell and moving swiftly on.. We do see the occasional bird fly pass however; so far out from land, they are amazing.

All we need now is a little more sun. The clouds have been great for our skin but not so great for our batteries that run off solar power. We now resort to running the engine ( in neutral so as not to waste fuel) for an hour or so a day – just to keep ourselves topped up and our very luxurious fridge working. Though the sun has been slowly breaking through more and more each day so it shouldn’t be long.... It is getting much warmer too.

Sofia has started to fish. Yesterday she had no luck and I was secretly a little relieved. Most people seem to catch tuna, I love tuna and fresh tuna would be delicious, but to prepare tuna with all of its blood is a little daunting – apparently there is quite a lot of blood.. Anyway let’s see. A freshly caught tuna steak however would be very nice .....

Will update in a few days,

Jane, Erwin, Sofia and Isabel

xxxx