We were both very tired on Tuesday night and conditions up above were not pleasant.  The wind was strong, chillier than usual and water frequently gushed over the sides.  It was impossible to sit up there in any comfort, even in waterproofs because of the extreme rolling from side to side.  Instead of sitting in the cockpit, we ended up using the kitchen timer to wake us every half an hour on both night watches and slept in our bunks.  This worked out well and we felt a lot more refreshed and rested in the morning.  We had frequent dousings throughout the day and had to keep drying clothes but it cooled us off anyway.  There have been no other boats for about four days now, although we know they are near from listening to the arc position reports. 

We are lucky enough to be sailing while the moon is full even though we didn't see too much of it last night due to clouds.  A few nights ago, however  when it was almost full I saw it in all its glory. The sky was clear with millions of stars and the moon gave off so much light as well as creating a shimmering path on the water.  I watched it sink below the horizon at about 3 30 and then experienced what we so very rarely see now - the real night sky.  It was so dark, I could understand why it's been described as an 'inky blackness' and it meant that the stars looked even more spectacular.  It was impossible to distinguish sea and sky so the overall effect was like being in a huge cave with holes in the top to let the stars be seen.  Hopefully we'll see more of that in the next two weeks 

Paul tried to catch a fish earlier but had no success so will have to have veggie burgers with the new potatoes and the last of the carrots (unless there are any stored in lockers I didn't know about).

 

THURSDAY 7TH

We saw another ship last night at about 2am and it seemed to be coming straight at us so Paul called it up on the radio to warn of our proximity and a sleepy voice replied that he would shift course.  This morning the sky cleared of clouds by 10 and it's turned into a scorching day and we hardly dare to say that the sea looks as if it might be getting calmer.  I hope so because it would be such luxury to move around more freely instead of like a monkey gripping onto overhead bars and grab rails to get from one place to another.  Luckily, we haven't injured ourselves this time so we must be expert at it now.

We have just passed the halfway point so only have 1, 375 miles to go.  All is well and we're looking forward to the second half now.

Bye for now

Kathy

 

Paul found these flying fish on the bow this morning - poor things.

Me earlier today (modelling a bucket hat it seems)

 

Paul measuring the sun's altitude with a sextant (??!!?)