Saturday and we are currently 560 nautical miles from Horta. We've been at sea for 200 hours since leaving Greenland and have settled into a regular shift routine. We passed the halfway mark a couple of days ago and our next milestone will be when we have covered 1000 miles which, at our current rate, will probably be Monday.



The rain that has caused the Sunderland v Reading game to be cancelled comes from a low that we encountered three days ago. Downloading weather forecasts via the satellite phone is invaluable as we were able to skirt around the depression and miss the worst weather. No two days are alike and the glorious sunshine we had yesterday has been replaced today with driving rain and hardly any wind so we're not breaking any speed records right now.



We've been entertained over recent days by a constant stream of visitors in the form of dolphins swimming alongside us for an hour and the occasional whale, visible only because we could see him spouting water. We also watched an aerial dogfight between a flock of hungry seagulls and a tiny stray bird that was desperately trying to evade them. Eventually it settled on the boat and was enticed to perch on Nigel's hand. It was clearly so at ease after almost being eaten that it stayed the night, huddled in a sheltered corner. When day broke it had skipped off without paying the bill although we did find that it had left a small deposit on the cushion. So Nigel's current score is one live bird and three dead seagulls. The fishing line is still out and of course it's only a matter of time before he lands a tuna!



Despite the rain today, the weather has become much warmer as we've sailed south and we've gradually shed layers of clothing. The record off Greenland was eight and we're now down to two. Sailing at night has become an interesting experience having become used to only a couple of hours of darkness further north. At this latitude the night hours are pitch black and steering the boat in even a moderate swell is like riding a rollercoaster in the dark. Fortunately, we have the ocean pretty much to ourselves and in eight days we have only seen two other vessels a long way off.



The other benefit of the dark nights and cloudless sky is that we are able to observe a myriad of stars, a satellite now and again and even the occasional shooting star. A couple of nights ago the Milky Way was clearly visible and the only sound was the swish of the waves as Astrid glided effortlessly through the water. Because we can, we always take a leak over the side and in the dark the luminescence in the water twinkles like the lights on a Christmas tree as we make our own small contribution to global warming.



Although our progress has slowed we expect to reach Horta in a few days time and are sustained by the thought of the first of several seriously ice cold beers.