Ocean excitement

Thursday 26 November 1400 GMT
22.57N 25.30W – 2085nm to go – Speed 7.8 knots

We adjusted boat time last night (one hour back) which was a great reminder of our progress westward. Still making excellent speed (7 or 8 knots) in gentle tropical winds, warm enough for tee shirts late into the night (and getting hotter each day).
All settling well into boat life – this morning taking cold showers on deck (which brought out the amateur dramatics in some) and hanging out washing to dry on the rails (quite the Chinese laundry).
Red Watch (Andy, Barry and David) had a spot of excitement an hour into their watch at 11pm last night – creaming along at 8 knots under a bright moon there was a bang and the genoa sail disappeared behind the staysail. Boogie was very quickly out of his cabin and on deck getting the perplexed crew under control (more or less!). A brand new block had broken allowing the sail to fly forward. This was soon replaced and Red Watch settled back into a spot more star chasing.
The cloudscape first thing this morning was very special and quite unlike anything on land – a ghostly weather front of mares’ tails and cirrus which drifted away leaving a clear sky. No more wild life since the dolphin acrobatics, and the fishing line has still not delivered any dinner.
A strong sense of being out on the ocean; no sight of commercial shipping for days. We occasionally pass a few other yachts on the horizon, which tends to bring out the competitive streak – so we shake out a reef to increase speed before settling back into ocean life.
Michael