The wind picked up nicely late yesterday afternoon---so of course did the swell----and we’ve been making good progress since then. Up to 20 knots wind from behind, we have a reefed genoa poled out to port and a reefed main

to starboard on a preventer. And we’re rolling! It’s good to be making fast progress at last, with about 650 miles to go to Chagos. And so far the wind has not been accompanied by rain---except a 5 minute shower yesterday afternoon which inevitably coincided with the need to change gas bottles mid way through Ger’s dinner prep.

And we now have our first sightings of other vessels----having seen nothing for the last week. I guess we are crossing the main shipping route round South Africa and up to Asia Pacific. Currently 4 vessels seen on AIS—3 going north to

Singapore/China, one headed south to Brazil. So we feel less lonely!