There are some days on long passages when it seems that very little has been happening when it comes to writing the blog but today has been exactly the opposite!

Before breakfast was even served Porge donned his swim gear and plunged over the side to inspect the water-maker intake and a vibration that we had felt on the rudder. His uncle was in charge of safety precautions and ensured that at all times a lifeline was in easy reach. Following the comments from some of the other racers it appears that we have not been alone in having to back down or send someone over the side to clear debris or kelp. In fact the amount of rubbish including fishing nets, floating buoys, canisters and a 45 gallon oil drum has been extraordinary, with the disappointing corollary that there has been very little wildlife in evidence with one notable exception in the form of a flying fish smacking Jeff in the left eye as he negotiated a particularly challenging wave!

One of the joys of racing on Zephyr has historically been the efficiency of our water-maker ensuring that everyone was able to take a daily shower. Sadly for this passage it seems unlikely that we will be able to continue this luxury and will instead have to wash sparingly or saltily as it has stopped working.

With our main spinnaker in the process of repair under Jeff's excellent guidance we have spent two days with the A2 providing a very impressive level of support. The overnight steering with this sail close to its limits proved challenging to us all but was probably the most exciting sailing that we have seen to date.

This afternoon with gusts of up to 27 knots we decided that we had tested the limits enough and resorted to the tried and tested wing-on-wing rig that we had used for so much of the Transat 2015.

We are holding our own against most of our fleet with one exception who are quietly taking back some of what we had claimed from them. The challenge is still to achieve line honours amongst those who started on the first day.

We have really enjoyed the comments that so many of you have posted on the blog (please continue) and in particular would like to take full advantage of Penny's redcurrant jelly succeess to place an order for two jars for our next passage.

We have now passed the halfway mark and spirits are high and a hoped-for arrival by next weekend.