Today was a hot and steamy day, as we roared along at 2.6knots!  The wind, such as it was, was the best we have had for two days. We even tried out the Gennaker in the hope that it might improve our progress.

But after 2 hours “fannying about” and nearly getting it wrapped around the mast, we gave up and put it away,  After the stunning sunrise, we should have know better.

The previous night (Sunday) we literally just drifted all night, with everything bar the Navlights, VHF radio and fridge and freezer turned off. We were drifting backwards towards Antigua at 1.3 knots on the North Atlantic Equatorial current.

The reason for this state of affairs is that with no generator, we have to charge the batteries using the engine. This is a very inefficient way to charge them as the main engine consumes 7.5 Litres per hour, as opposed to the Generator which only uses 1.7 litres an hour. So we even have to run the engine to charge the batteries to run the inverter to cook. Phew!!

The up shot of all of this is that with little or no wind for the last few days (or wind on the nose. FROM THE WEST). Oh, and very little forecast until Thursday. Instead of being in Antigua in 22 days which was definitely on the cards, it s now looking more likely to be 27/28 days.

As we do not have enough diesel to motor. It’s sail or drift! VERY frustrating.

Not only that but for two days we enjoyed some horrendous thunderstorms. So we would go from no wind to gusts of up to 40 knots! Certainly kept us on our toes. In the middle of one of these storms, as small gull, decided it too had, had enough and became a stow a way for an hour or two. It particularly liked the top of the Biminis

On the up side, today was baking hot! So Jennie was a very happy lady. We decided to have a deck wash. So we stripped off, switched on the deck wash pump and hosed ourselves down with WARM sea water. The we used the transom mounted shower for a very brief fresh water shower to wash off the salt., and the soap suds. Then we just dried ourselves in the sun. Yes, this is what all the grind is about we thought!

I will not mention the days run for the last couple of days. Just too depressing! 789nm to go. Just can’t wait…………………