We have arrived!

19:50UTC 25/11/08 23'32N 066'20W

Well, OK, we haven't arrived in the Virgin Islands (did I have you wondering?!) but we have arrived in true tropical sailing. There is a ten knot breeze, warm sunshine, almost cloudless blue skies and a gentle sea. This is what it is about. Shorts and t-shirt, lunch in the cockpit, beer in the fridge. Very nice. Only 320 miles to go....

The fish are holding their own in a series of honourable draws today. Three mahi have been on our lines, and one even made it onto the deck before flopping wildly enough to free the hook and jump back into the water. Argh.... We just keep trying and at least we still have the same number of lures and know that they work.

We haven't seen our additional crewmember for a few days. Either he has flown the coop, so to speak or, and this is my fear, he has crawled into a corner and failed to make it through the night. There was no note, you know 'I'm going out now, I may be some time. Oates.' Whatever has happened, I fear the worst for the poor little chap.

This morning was so beautiful, I didn't wake Yan for his 6-8am watch and just stayed on deck enjoying the sunrise and the sailing. He surfaced of his own accord about an hour later. I took the opportunity to get some domestic tasks done, including cleaning and filling the stove. When doing this job, it's easy to swap the fuel cannisters around and light the oven, which is what I did. Every time I open the breakfast and snack cupboard, a packet of brownie mix shoots out and lands on my head, so I finally took the hint and mixed it up and baked it. That's solved that problem.

All's well, and brownie flavoured. N.

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