It is going on for 2am and I am on watch. There are no ships around but we have become a mini aircraft carrier - we have twelve birds sitting on board, hopefully enjoying the rest and free ride. They are all, I think, called Common Noddy. So, what does a guy do when alone with a bunch of birds at 2am in the morning - you chat to them! Firstly, they are not too interested in me chatting to them and give the occasional growling type of chirp if I get within six inches. But they really seem to think we are an aircraft carrier.

The squadron leader seems to believe that this boat, with its long roof, make an ideal landing strip. I think their biggest complaint was about the designer, who had this idiotic notion to plant a fake aluminium "tree" in the middle of their landing strip - and then to run a whole bunch of cables and ropes from it to just make their landing a bit more difficult.

We even have "Lookout" Noddy sitting on the spreader. Let me explain that the spreader is a wide chunk of aluminium, like a branch, sticking out of the "tree trunk", about halfway up. There is no surface for "Lookout" Noddy to hold onto, so, he comes into land, which takes about ten minutes of tight manoeuvring, then tries to hold on, which he manages for about five minutes before he falls off with a squawk and much swearing. He then goes through the whole process again and again. I say it is a "he" as no female would try what old "Lookout" does when there is a perfectly long and far more stable landing strip a few metres below!

Then you think: "John's been smoking something illegal!" Nah, just boredom! Basically, we ran out of wind last night and are motor-sailing, hoping for a bit of a breeze at first light. The prediction is for about 14 knots, which will be nice if it materialises - at the moment we only have about 8 knots, which is just not enough to sail with the spinnaker.

We have around 400 nautical miles to our next waypoint off French Guyana and then another 500 odd to a waypoint just next to the island of St Vincent, where we will enter the Caribbean Sea and then head up the island chain towards Sint Maarten before crossing to Tortola. For those that do not know and think I do not know how to spell, the island of St Martin/Sint Maarten is divided into two parts - St Martin is the French side and Sint Maarten is owned by the Dutch.

So, now you all know where we are and what is happening on board (which is not much). Wihan and Byron send greetings, as do I - John.