Over 6000 miles of sea

Position: 32,44.49N , 16,42.76 WSpeed: 0 knots, Course: 0 deg. UTC Time: 16. August 2006 11:04 log 5560. Marina Quinto do Lorde, Madeira Total distace travelled = 5560 miles Direct Distance (via Cape Verde) = 4670 miles Time on route = 40 days All well and safe.

Position: 32,5.12N , 16,57.20W Speed: 3 knots, Course: 34 deg. UTC Time: 14. August 2006 20:13 Motoring.It is surprising when you see the Atlantic Ocean as flat and calm as your local village pond but that is how it is right now. An oily, glassy, shiny, blanket of water. It's beautiful. Not a ripple or a wave. No wind at all. Which was fantastic when we saw a family of whales not to far away. They disappeared when we got close. Shame.This means that we are motoring and as it goes we are moving at a speed close to walking speed. We are not going faster since this would get us to port in the middle of the night. Not a sensible option. Going this slow also uses less fuel which is now down to the last 20 litres. Today we stopped the boat and went for a swim. Diving off a yacht in the middle of the ocean and swimming around is something I have thought about doing. It was as scary as I imagined. No sharks, no beasties. We had a look at the underside where clinging to the hull were lots o...

Position: 32,5.12N , 16,57.20W Speed: 3 knots, Course: 34 deg. UTC Time: 14. August 2006 20:13 Motoring.It is surprising when you see the Atlantic Ocean as flat and calm as your local village pond but that is how it is right now. An oily, glassy, shiny, blanket of water. It's beautiful. Not a ripple or a wave. No wind at all. Which was fantastic when we saw a family of whales not to far away. They disappeared when we got close. Shame.This means that we are motoring and as it goes we are moving at a speed close to walking speed. We are not going faster since this would get us to port in the middle of the night. Not a sensible option. Going this slow also uses less fuel which is now down to the last 20 litres. Today we stopped the boat and went for a swim. Diving off a yacht in the middle of the ocean and swimming around is something I have thought about doing. It was as scary as I imagined. No sharks, no beasties. We had a look at the underside where clinging to the hull were lots o...

Position: 31,27.21N , 17,18.10W Speed: 3 knots, Course: 16 deg. UTC Time: 14. August 2006 09:08 Was I saying something along the lines that light air sailing can be rewarding well let me remind myself that it can also be really frustrating. Especially when you need to be somewhere and the back-up diesel is so low that it is doubtful whether we can make it to land under power. So we really need that wind and it just doesn't stay around for long if we are going to make the flights out of Madeira on Thursday. Sounds long enough to do 84 miles but it is touch and go at the moment. I am sure it will be OK in the end and whilst we have these light airs we can get good sleeps, tidy up a bit, watch the silky sea for signs of life and contemplate the journey past and the prospects at home. I am so very privileged.

Position: 30,31.86N , 17,35.81W Speed: 3 knots, Course: 24 deg. UTC Time: 13. August 2006 16:22 After our scare with the rig being loose and the diesel running very low we have less to worry about now . We are 120 miles away from Madeira and even though the winds have dropped to very light airs there is still enough wind or a mixture of wind and engine to get us to Madeira. Therefore it has been a bit more relaxing. The sea is dead calm and the sky is cloudless which allows us the opportunity to be lazy and bathe in the warmth and relax. We are still doing our watch system but since the last couple of days have been so lovely we have both stayed awake for most of the day and chatted or read or just watched the sea and sailed the boat. Light air sailing can be very rewarding since the effort of patiently seeking the wind is instantly rewarded by huge increases in boat speed, albeit from 2 knots to 5 knots, not fast but a rush all the same. We have been lucky today with some pretty const...

Position: 29,14.50N , 18,39.43W Speed: 7 knots, Course: 316 deg. UTC Time: 12 August 2006 13:11 Last night Jon noticed that the rig was loose, so we had to drop the sails in case the mast fell down. So we then turned on the engine to motor and the engine promptly starting emitting warning buzzing sounds so we had to switch her off. Nightmare. No sails, no engine. Bobbing around the ocean 20 miles of the coast of Las Palmas frantically looking in the books to see which port we could call into. This was at midnight. It was not looking good. After weighing up the pros and cons we decided it was best not to go to the Canaries. We decided instead to motor very slowly forward till morning, when Jon could go up the mast and tighten the rods, and hope that the engine was going to work. We puttered at two knots for 6 hours, using as little of our fuel as we needed and without the engine making any more noises. After Jon had had a decent sleep, he was hoisted up the rig to tighten the bits and b...

Alison's been asking for a photo of me on the boat Mediterranean- style. So here it is. A bit posey I know, and this not a true reflection of how I spend my days; basking in the sunshine without a care in the world...honest

Position: 28,19.23N , 18,35.73W Speed: 7 knots, Course: 59 deg. UTC Time: 11. August 2006 23:30 Las Palmas, Canaries is off to my right now. The lights of the towns are glowing away. I can practically hear the music. Pleasant sailing the past couple of days with warm weather and calm seas. Motoring now though since we have a slight problem with the mast tension. Just another thing to add to the list. Looks like we will be in Madeira for Tuesday morning, if all goes to plan. Not that I would put a lot of money on it though. Other stuff can still go wrong. Will believe it when I get my feet onto the pontoon. The estimated time for the sail from Cape Town to the Azores was 35 days so I victualised the boat for that amount of time plus a bit extra. It has now been 36 days so the food, though not running out, is getting low and we are now straying from our five meal plan and being a bit more creative with the left overs. I still think there is even some chocolate left somewhere which keeps ...

Position: 25,21.41N , 22,53.17W Speed: 6 knots, Course: 52 deg. UTC Time: 09. August 2006 09:04 What a lovely night as it goes. The moon is full and this environment highlights how lovely it is. I was on the sunrise watch which is the best of the night watches but this morning I had the bonus of having the most glorious orange moonset just moments before the sunrise in the opposite side of the ocean. It was special. (You might have to have been there). SInce the winds are a bit light and Jon is now feeling the urge to get back home the engine is coming on frequently now. We filled the tank with 40 litres from the 2 containers we had strapped on to the back of the boat which gives us loads of fuel to get us to where we want to go. On the basis of sailing when there's wind and motor when there is not then we should be in Madeira on Monday/Tuesday. I have just heard the good news from Alison that she has booked me on a flight direct to London. Well done, Alison. What a fab girlfriend....

Position: 24,41.99N , 24,20.76W Speed: 6 knots, Course: 33 deg. UTC Time: 08. August 2006 17:30 log 4952 since CT. Beating into the wind still. Expected shift to northerlies did not happen. Sailing was frustrating so we have decided to motor for a while. Get a few miles in a straight line under our belts. The destination is looming but it is taking an age to get there. Today the sun has come out to warm us up a bit. A welcome change to the cloudy days we have been having. Food is becoming bland now. The same food every 5 days for the past month is getting to us now. We really could do with a change but we have run out of goodies. I think there may be a pack of mints somewhere. It was rice crackers and marmite this morning just to have something different. Clothes, sleeping bag, ropes, deck and bodies are now so salty they are all clammy to touch. Makes it all quite uncomfortable. Especially at 2am and you want to get a decent kip. One thing to note is how the body has adapted to the pa...