Lots of rain and winds that vary from nothing to very strong and not in the right direction for us! For the last few days we have been plagued by this low pressure system which is not expected at this time of year. We had been hoping to take a swim as we crossed the equator 2 days ago but it was not to be as we were hurtling along at 8+ knots and it was pitch black! Last night was probably the most challenging as we had heavy seas and strong winds that required lot of sail changes. In the end just a small handkerchief at the front kept us going at good speed. I can best describe it as like riding on the Alton Towers runaway train ride with no breaks and no lights with someone throwing buckets of water at you out of the dark! As Jackie, who had the worst of it on her watch said 'at least the water was warm!' We keep requesting weather updates in the hope of seeing the end of this low system but as yet we have not got a good idea. Anyway next it should be the duldrums - frying pan to fire me thinks! On the bright side we are knocking off the miles very quickly and now only have 990 miles before Trinidad. There we will need to spend some time sorting out the various problems that we have identified on this passage before beginning to explore at a more leisurely pace the remainder of the Caribbean. The Crew of Oceans Dream send our best regards to all our families and friends. PS Fear not we are no thinking of renaming her Oceans Nightmare just yet!