Position 34 44.1N 40 10.0W

Friday 22^nd May

Good progress through the night, with steady wind early and then a switch to motor sailing at around 2.00am. Now the wind’s really died, and we’re making about 5 knots through the water with the engine dawdling at 1600 revs to conserve fuel. Fortunately there’s now a gently favourable current with us adding nearly half a knot to then boat speed. Flores is now 514 miles away, so should be well in range, but we’ll aim to make the extra ninety or so miles to Horta that was the eventual destination. We’re well into the Azores high now, with the barometer at 1030 millibars, way above the low point of 1013 a few days ago. The sea is quite calm, flat other than a very long, lazy swell, and then sun is starting to beam down through a diminishing veil of high cloud. Sunrise was a little after five this morning, the dusty brush stroke of the Milky Way, scattered stars and a sliver of moon fading gracefully away as the light spread in from the east, bursting into flame along the cloudy horizon, and then releasing the sun to climb on high.

Knot of the day: Bosun’s chair   Nautical saying: Dead Marine 

Dawn in the Azores High