Wednesday February 5^th ,  2014

South Atlantic Ocean, 11 18.9S 28 05.4W 

Today's Blog by David (Time zone: UTC – 1.0 )

The weather has been kind to us a although the wind has been a little too far aft making the route dead down wind. Thus progress has not been what might have been.   We have used every sail. After flying the Code Zero for the first 36 hours we have rung the changes since. Eventually, we struck the  Frog at about 02 30 on Tuesday morning as the wind built and then  made excellent time until about 11.00AM Tuesday when the wind died. Engine on and motored for 7 hours – the first motor since Reunion we think.  Now sailing large again and making good progress.   We are nearly five days out from St Helena now – still 600 miles to go to get to Salvador, Brazil. ETA sometime on Saturday afternoon/evening?

The BBC World Service aerial array on the NW Coast of Ascension in the background

Behind this Darwin introduced – and rather comfortingly named  - “Screw Pine”

Green Mountain, Ascension Island

Fishing Report

Whatever the chap in  Big Fish, the Cape Town tackle shop,  might have advised us about monofilament line and bite protectors, we have continued to lose lures – the  line bitten through – most recently a four foot Wahoo that we got to the side of the boat which bit its way off as we dithered about whether  we really wanted to land it or not.  So we have gone back to basics; small lures and wire traces since when Rudi has boated and Richard has filleted  two yellow fin and one other tuna – each of which provided more than enough meat for four people.  Sashimi for lunch yesterday,,,,,  Mmmmm!

Scrabble Report

We are not talking to Richard.  A personal score of 231, including 50 for using all tiles and  three triple letter scores of thirty or more and  in which  he had the temerity to ‘’go out” by putting an ‘O’ and a ‘T’ either side of a letter ‘U’ on the board.    “OUT”?   Talk about rubbing it in!