Yesterday started well, with a decent wind on a broad reach until just after lunch. We then had a long squall—plenty of wind and some rain going on for about

an hour, reefing in and travelling fast. And it was followed by----nothing. It’s usually the case that around a squall there is very little wind—so we imagined we

would only have to wait half an hour and the wind would return as before. But no, we waited..and waited..and waited. The wind remained very light and what is

termed “variable”---in other words multi-directional.  After a while we switched on the engine---while waiting for the wind. But I’m not going to motor to Chagos

so when we still had no wind after an hour of engine, we turned it off and lay a-hull---ie drifting nowhere while we waited. It seemed unlikely we would make  Chagos

on the 31st.

It was not until 2 a.m.---during Ger’s watch---that the wind returned—and some wind! From zero to 15 knots and rising, good sailing angle---we were back sailing quickly,

back on course and FAST. The wind continued to rise and we’re now sailing in over 20 knots of wind and well reefed. Given the experience of the last 24 hours, I will no

longer predict an arrival time---though tomorrow seems to be back on! Hoping for it, as a big wind is accompanied by a big sea—and a lot of rolling—so a calm anchorage

would be nice!

All is well.