20th may

The winds of change have not changed and we have been heading north. The easterly winds that have helped us creep up to the northern Atlantic have put us due west of the Azores but 600 miles out. These winds should calm and we predict to encounter westerly breezes to help us head to land. The dilemma we now have to overcome is, do we continue to go up the map or do we turn right? As I sit and write this blog, our captain, the decisive leader that he is, has taken the wheel and put on the engine. We are heading to our destination; we are actually heading in the right direction. Captiain has pulled out the last packet of crackers to celebrate. This is very good news and all the crew members are happy. The further north we headed the colder it seemed to get. The days of basking in the Caribbean sunshine are long gone. Today has been spent trying to remember where Andrew put the duvets and duvet covers. Not an easy task, both cabins have been emptied and still he wonders around scratching his head. I thought they had not found them but i went up to the cockpit to find the two village idiots both tangled and wrestling with duvets and covers in an attempt to get them ready to go. Last night on watch I wore socks and shoes, a tee-shirt and a jumper, a pair of fleeced trousers, gloves, hats and a complete set of overalls. I woke up in the same outfit. The 12am to 3 am watch i was on last night did bring me a few treats, I saw the moon rise at 2am and a pod of dolphins joined severance just before. Their silhouettes shining neon blue as they passed through patches of dense bioluminescence. This making them almost look like torpedoes fired out of the canons on Severence's deck. Spirits are still high on board even though we still estimate another week at sea. However the conversation round the dinner table has started to deteriorate. Before we used to talk of poignant current affairs and right the wrongs of the world. Now we discuss attributes of a great fart and what we would do if we were a woman for just a day. Aisling tends to sit out of these conversations, but I get the feeling, secretly, she enjoys our company. And who wouldn't. This could be my last blog, but i very much doubt it. In four days we should be very close to the Azores, if not already there. I would assume that if the last week is anything to go by, plenty more will happen in Severnece's back passage.....

tom

The Iridium link needs to maintain the strongest signal consistently for around 5 minutes to send a picture and our current position does not appear to have very good satellite coverage. OK for voice and data but not reliable enough for pictures.

Hence we are a few days behind on pictures. If the satellite coverage does not improve we shall be in the Azores in 4-5 days we can catch up with photographs then.

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