Noon position 16 28N, 28 12W, day’s run 102 miles, DTG 1836. As Andy and I came off watch this morning at 2 am the winds had started to fill in and by 8 am we had a steady wind of between 18 and 20 knots which was moving us along at 5 to 5.5 knots. At midday, we decided to put the main up with the third reef in, mainly to try to stabilise the rolling a bit but it has also given us a little more speed combined with an increase in wind speed so that we are now doing a satisfactory 6 k.

Yesterday, Ian baked a tray full of flapjacks and by this afternoon most of it had been eaten, with everyone receiving a fair share.

Steve, a professional skipper, has been with us a for two weeks now and we have been able to tap into his knowledge which has been helpful, as well as having some interesting conversations, the last of which was whether preventers (lines to hold sails from accidentally swinging uncontrolled across the yacht) should be used or not. As in most similar matters, there is no one correct answer and as such it has been left to each watch on Sea Spray to decide whether to use them or not.

Democracy and empowerment at work!