SUNDAY DECEMBER 7

 

Position at 2030GMT: 15 deg 03.05 north 54 deg 06.81 west

 

Approx 388 miles to go

 

Our little feathered friend left us after 11 hours sitting on the back of the boat. Four Star, as we called him (because he was a petrel) flew off at 0505 after Dave tried to feed him a digestive biscuit.

 

We soon had fresh visitors however when a pod of about 40 or 50 dolphins arrived and gave us the once-over. Nigel’s seaweed seems to be attracting the wildlife.

 

Just before brunch at 1115 of corned beef hash and eggs we were hit by an almighty rain storm. Nigel and Mark on deck were like drowned rats; Chris and Dave below decks were equally wet – with sweat. Being just 750 miles north of the Equator has its drawbacks; it’s not only hot but also incredibly humid.

 

Cooking lunch or dinner is like working out in a sauna. Chris’s belly is noticeably smaller!

 

After the rain came an unusual calm, with no wind and no waves. We have dawdled along at 3 knots for ages but now the wind is returning and we’re speeding up. Well under 400 miles to go so we’re going to celebrate with a nice Sunday dinner on deck of ham carbonara with fusili pasta then we’ll have a tin of fruit with hot custard for afters.

 

The Sunday papers failed to arrive for the third week running. That paper boy is useless.