Oh boy. The blog must seem very negative of late but right now we are having hell on earth. No wind whatsoever. The breeze was supposed to be 10-19kn through Sunday. Saturday was supposed to be the same, but in the event there was very little. We had a little Sunday morning but nothing in the afternoon. In fact, we had a brief squall Sunday am which resulted in a broach with Big White. We were lucky not to damage the rig or big White again. Pretty much from then Big White has just hung there and the main has been flogging back and forth in the swells. We are so near but so far. The rich get richer (in that those boats in are gaining from our misfortune). Of course we are thinking we are the only ones in this hole that seems to be following us all over but I was pleased and surprised we have held our own on Alpha Tau during most of it. Quite literally we are adrift in zero wind, getting burnt up under the relentless sun.

So, on to high spots. We are pleased the arrivals crew have been partying and have sussed things out in St Lucia. Onboard we (Jonesy) finally scooped the cheese from the fridge. It was foul, and had melted everywhere and contaminated pretty much all that was in the fridge. The boat now stinks of rotten cheese on top of everything else. Also, today was the day we decided to jettison the Cernao ham, which was done with much ceremony. Actually we decided to trawl it behind the boat, until we realised that if something did take it, it would be much bigger than anything we could deal with. So we set the ham on its merry way.

With today marking three weeks into the race, which is longer than estimiated, we are finally seeing the food stock come down. We still have plenty but the treats are running out. During battery charging today we had some music, which was nice but what we really really want is wind.

So, the weather over the past 3 days has blown our chances of getting in much before wednesday but never say never. We are all hoping the weather will treat us to a happy ending and let us finish in style.

Winds stayed horrible and light for most of the night before filling a little this morning. We tried every trick in the book to keep the old bus moving, and a few besides. Tiredness brings mistakes, and within a couple of minutes of taking the helm at 05:00 this morning the skipper had a monumental wrap in the kite. We were lucky to be able to retrieve it, eventually sorting it out. Good job the decklight got fixed. This morning we are making progress and hoping the wind will hold. Big White is pulling us down the track. 177nm to northern tip of St Lucia. Hopefully the wind will hold. And fill. We are due a bit of luck so fingers crossed.

Dave & Crew