We have a number of reasons for celebration today. Firstly we passed the halfway point in our sail to Mauritius at 6am (1150 miles down), so it's all downhill from here. It's also 12 months today since we re-launched matilda after her extensive overhaul. Which means today is our 12 month anniversary of living aboard matilda continuously. And what an amazing 12 months it's been! I think a couple of G&Ts will be in order once the sun has passed the yard arm this afternoon...

matilda has been performing beautifully so far on this leg. We are way further ahead in the fleet than we have any right to expect; probably mostly down to the stronger winds which matilda is fond of. Today the winds have eased and we have shaken out the last of the reefs, so we have 17 to 20 knots just behind the beam with full sail; we're still making close to 7.5 knots through the water. The sky is almost cloud-free and the temperature has been cooling nicely each day we head further South, so it's all turning out very well for our special day.

Heather is celebrating by going back to work on her Possum embriodery - another extreme embriodery session in the cockpit. I've just about caught up on my sleep, so I will probably treat myself to a shower and a shave which normally leaves me feeling like a new person.