SATURDAY DECEMBER 6

 

Position at 2230 GMT: 15 deg 24.49 north 52 deg 32.20 west

 

Approx 2,407 miles covered, 482 to go

 

We have an extra passenger on board. Just after dark a small seabird landed on our solar panels, then hopped down to make himself home on the gantry at the back of the boat where we hang the dinghy. Must have been the smell of our beef stew and mash that attracted him! Dave’s taken his picture and the bird’s not in the least bit fussed.

 

Wind back 12 hours to dawn and we had another bizarre experience: the sun rising in the east at the precise moment the full moon sank in the west. It was like having a sunset and a sunrise simultaneously. The rising sun lights up the sky with a fiery orange colour and the setting moon fills the western sky with brilliant yellows and golds.

 

The sun makes the clouds turn a kind of purple colour which reflects down on to the sea. So this morning the sea to the port side of Relentless was purple while on the starboard side it was blue.

 

We’ve made huge progress today, covering 62 miles in 11 hours at one point, and we’re all very aware that landfall is getting close. There’s a curious mixture of emotions at play: partly relief that we’ll soon b able to stand up without constantly being thrown about, partly pride that we’ve almost completed a remarkable feat, and partly sorrow that it will be over before we know it, never to be repeated.

 

Nigel was very taken by a giant piece of seaweed that floated past today, so he pulled it in and it is hanging on the railings. Maybe that’s why the bird is here – he thinks we’re a floating nature reserve.

 

We’ll update you tomorrow with the latest news on the bird.