Eliot relieved me on watch at two this morning and just as he popped his head up a pod of Dolphins joined us. Spirit of Mystery was virtually sailing herself so we spent a magic few minutes on the bow watching them play in the moonlight. Flying fish have now become a hazard with Andy and Eliot taking a direct hit and I can tell you they are really moving. Now to the question of the day posed by Mark; do they change from a shoal of fish to a flock of fish when airborne? Nice one to ponder on methinks and many thanks to all of you who let us know about the eating habits of turtles.

This morning has revealed a couple of new birds which I suspect reside in the Cape Verde's as they are now sixty miles off our port bow. The heat is also starting to rise as we make steady progress south on a wind that isn't what we would have hoped for but is able to keep us trundling. Those off watch are now driven below during the middle of the day to escape its rays. We have to keep wetting the decks to try and stop the timbers shrinking and letting in water.

Life has settled into a daily routine that is both relaxing and yet seems to pass quickly as we keep ourselves busy. Breakfast is around ten followed by the daily square away and any odd jobs such as the blog, baking or washing clothes by stomping on them in a big bucket much like a wine maker would crush his grapes. Around 1300hrs a sun sight is taken and worked out before we start thinking about the evening meal and starting the night watch. About seven hours is spent on the helm and this seems to soak up time. Otherwise we are doing a lot of reading and I am taking great delight in re reading the Bolitho series, thanks to Colin Merry being kind enough to put his collection on board.

Eliot is also doing a lot of reading which is great to see and of course fishing is something that he enjoys immensely.

Cheers Pete

You may recall that in one of Pete's recent blog up-dates, he wanted to know what turtles fed on. The crew on Spirit of Mystery have now been able to put their minds to rest, as I have received several emails through providing useful bits of information and have forwarded it on to them. A couple snippets of information I have set out below which you may also find of interest:

"When turtles are young they are mainly carnivorous, but as they grow older they change to be herbivore, therefore out at sea a fully grown turtle wouldn't have to chase anything at its very slow pace in order to feed. They would wait until they happened to come across seaweed or other such plant life and make a meal of that."

"Turtles eat jellyfish. There are great accounts of turtles eating jellyfish in Ernest Hemingway's 'The Old Man of the Sea' and Michael Morpurgo's 'The Wreck of the Zanzibar', both brilliant stories. Apparently, turtles close their eyes to prevent stinging, open their mouths and just drift through the water chomping on jellyfish."

As Pete put it: "Close your eyes and chomp, now there's a simple approach to life."

A big thank you to all of you who have emailed information in about these beautiful creatures. Keep reading the blogs, no doubt we will require your help again sometime in the near future!

The above picture is of a rather startled looking turtle - this must be how he/she would look, with its eyes closed, quietly going about its own business, chomping away on jellyfish in the middle of the ocean, when all of a sudden out of the blue, it has four faces peering down at it from over the side of a boat. There just has to be a few captions for this picture don't you think? Apologies about the quality of the picture, had to cheat a little to get it up on the blog!

So the Vendee has started and they are off - big fleet this year and it would be such a thrill to see one of them fly by with everything drawing. To see Raphael or one of the Brit's would just top it off. The Vendee is the big one and as the first Brit to complete it I wish them all the very, very best from the bottom of my heart. The start is a spectacle of colour, people, excitement and anticipation as they all leave the dock with everything going for them. The reality on such a gruelling race track is of course quite different. Some will have a good race and some a bad one, there will be tragedy and drama and one can only hope that there is no loss of life. The Vendee is more than a race, and it is how the person reacts to whatever fate chooses to throw at them that counts. It's private, something that the podium can't get to grips with as it lacks the depth, but it is real and lasting to the individual who has endured and enjoyed the ups and downs. The race, on the one hand is quite different now, bigger boats, bigger budgets and they can't go as far south as we did but on the other it is the same. It takes people to their limit and of course the Southern Ocean remains dispassionate and indifferent to the trials and tribulations of those that take on its relentless brutality. It is magnificent and represents an odyssey that can't fail to inspire and thrill both competitor and spectator alike. Fair winds my friends, take care, clip on and make sure that you put a bit of time aside to rejoice and enjoy the beautifully simple task that you face.

To other things on the good ship 'Spirit of Mystery', mundane after the Vendee you might think but not so. We could not be happier out here as we follow in the wake of seven amazing people who did their own Vendee in 1854. I often wonder about their thoughts and emotions as they sailed into this new world that we are enjoying. It will have been as new to them as it is to Eliot; flying fish, a moon that is so bright that when it pops out from behind a cloud it is as if the lights have been turned on. The scale of the voyage; day after day in pursuit of a better life in Australia. What characters they must have been.

The big news yesterday was Eliot catching a Dorado which was in the pan within minutes of being hauled aboard. He was so chuffed as he popped up with a pan of really tasty food. Ray Mears is an inspiration to him and this was living the dream rather than watching someone else on the telly.

The day was topped off with a big Sunday roast and a call home - such a boost to have a chat with loved ones and catch up on the news.

Cheers Pete

At one point last night it felt like it was raining fish; two big flying fish hit the hood and one took off right beside me and landed in the middle of the mizzen only to slip back into the sea. They are really quite entertaining as they take off from under the bow and skitter away in a star burst retreat with the sun sometimes reflecting off their backs to add to the spectacle. The big ones can cover large distances and remain in the air for quite some time as they are able to give the water another flick of the tail as they come back down. Then you get the baby of the family, all of two inches, giving it their best effort for a couple of feet. It's really quite sweet to watch.

One of the surprises of the trip is how long our first bottle of gas has lasted. Granted we didn't do a lot of eating for the first few days but to still be using it is great news as it shows we have plenty and can experiment in the galley. Yesterday we had another batch of fresh rolls and last night Andy did the most amazing Chicken and Mushroom pie with homemade pastry. Not a morsel was left and there was no way that pudding could be contemplated. This in fact has been the case since we left home so we took the decision to treat our puddings as a meal in their own right.

This morning we had a choice of Chocolate or Strawberry steam pudding with custard for breakfast, and as a result I feel like a lion. Halfway through cooking it Andy gave a shout from the helm, and we all piled on deck to find a pod of Killer Whales by the boat. We didn't get as close as we would have liked but they were a magnificent site and we could see them blowing as they made their way north to where I have no idea.

We managed a gratifying 132NM run yesterday and will be looking to make our dive south for the doldrums in a few days as we will not be looking for any more westing for a while. So it was a happy crew, feeling like its making progress that sat for supper and sundowners last night. That afternoon we had all had a refreshing shower on deck and I had a shave after Eliot managed to get his picture of my grey beard with a clay pipe in my mouth.

Cheers Pete