FINNROSE 15:38.9N 39:08.34W

Finnrose
Sat 8 Dec 2012 16:29
Just completed our 11th day at sea.

Didn't make as much progress as we would have liked in the last 24 hours.
The wind dropped light yesterday afternoon and we were pretty much becalmed
for 12 hours. Then at about 2am it picked up and we were able to surge
ahead again, but only temporarily we are becalmed again. Our GRIB forecast
(weather forecast) says the wind should pick up this evening. We hope so.
We have got so far without running the engine and would like to make it the
rest of the way without burning diesel.

We had a couple of visitors aboard yesterday afternoon, largish, white sea
birds. We don't know what they are. They don't appear in our bird book.
perhaps the clue to our problem in identifying them is our choice of book,
'Birds of Britain'. Well, we know they are not residents of the British
Isles, but somehow suspect they shouldn't be here either. One of the pair
stayed for a few hours and then flew off. The other has decided to join us
on the crossing. She/he takes off and has a look around every so often and
then comes back, usually perched on the dinghy, but Liz earlier today found
our visitor in the saloon (not for long, I might add!). Picture of the said
bird attached. Does anyone know what it is?

Days run yesterday 117 miles, and 1272 miles to go.

JPEG image