'Ding Ding' - 'next stop Cape Town'; Five hundred miles in three days and loving every minute of it despite the weather that has come with the wind we were all hoping for. We seem to have been sat in rain for the last three days and everything is damp above and below decks, so to see some sunny patches today is fantastic. We have to wear a jacket because of the odd bit of spray but to get some air round the legs is such a treat. Mark's had a shower on deck and we have a load of clothes on the line.

Last night, having had enough and not realising that we would have a drier day I decided that it was time for a clean pair of underpants! I was fed up with a damp backside grinding away on our bench seat for it makes for an uncomfortable rash if you are not careful. Up forward and out with the wet wipes and talcum powder or 'foo foo' as it's known in the services. A good old dig about in the kit bag for that rare pair of spare apple catchers and I was in business. I now know why a baby jolts from a dozy existence into a wide eyed shocker of a world, when a wet wipe gets slapped across its backside during a nappy change. They can be really quite cold but worth their weight in gold when needed.

The lack of a blog yesterday was thanks to a very long day in that we had our first proper gear failure with the Halyard hoop on the mainmast breaking a weld. We all put our thinking hats on and eventually came up with a solution using a bit of old spectra that I had thankfully forgotten to take off the boat. It was originally used to drag logs up out of the valley when we were building Spirit of Mystery. Five hours of stitching and we were ready to drop the big lug and try it out for size.

Typically a squall came through just as we clambered on deck so it was a very wet half hour of fiddling about before we had in fitted. By this time the wind had really picked up so we put the second reef in and the result looks great. It needs to be, for we still have 2500NM to go before we pick up a replacement which Tracey can bring down. Hopefully Chris will have time to make one for us.

By the time we were back on track I was straight into another watch it was going dark and I was very tired, so the blog was put to one side. My next watch had a magic moment thanks to my brother Martin and a moment of clear sky which framed the moon, Venus and Jupiter in close proximity. Martin is keen on astronomy and emailed to say we ought to look out for it and I can tell you it was a stunning sight. If I were a king of old it would be the kind of thing to prompt grabbing the camel, a box of incense and chasing it down. Hope you managed to see it Martin and thanks for the tip.

Last night had an odd boat pass us by about a mile away in that it had a strobe light high up and we were wondering if it might be a Vendee Boat. Perhaps someone could compare web sites and let us know.

Cheers Pete

The first of December started at one in the morning for me as we have a running joke in the family with regard to 'pinch and a punch first of the month'. Tracey and Livvy always get me and despite my protestations of 'wait till next month' it's been two years of defeat on my part. Unbeknown to me Tracey asked Eliot to catch me out as we slipped into December so even out here she has managed to creep under my guard.

Well not this time and I have to confess it's not down to my memory, for when Andy relieved me at one in the morning the first thing I received was my pinch and a punch. Not to be outdone and thanks to his reminder I sent mine to Livvy and Tracey via the satcom. I am sure there will be a family debate as to whether this is legitimate or not but after two years of defeat it was a small victory that had me chuckling away as I went to bed.

So far December has been good to us with a healthy wind and direction which delivered a really good 24hr run of 164NM. This is one of our best runs and I feel we will match it again tomorrow if progress so far is anything to go by. Let's hope we are in for a sustained period of mile chomping as we now have 24 days to make Christmas with the daily reminder of Eliot's Advent Calendar which Tracey put in his present bag. It's really nice to see it out.

If the speed is to our liking I would say that we have made a step into a different feel on the weather front. For a start it is much cooler and we are starting to use sleeping bags again. We are also suffering rain and have been in full foulies for the last couple of days. Color is now off the menu with nothing but grey all around us as the sun is unable to burn its way through the low cloud. Gone is the azure sea to be replaced by slate grey to go with the sky.
It's not the Southern Ocean yet but its presence can be felt.

Cheers Pete

Today is a day of halves in that we have hit half the southing between the equator and Cape Town and we have also hit half way down our chart. This might not seem much but the creases in our chart have come to signify very real mile stones in our lives. If you can visualise a chart of the South Atlantic with the continents of South America and Africa on either side and the equator across the top you have it. Now imagine it folded in half horizontally and then halved again on its vertical axis and you now have our creases or chart areas that we are working too.

Our plan is to ride that big merry-go-round of a high pressure system down the top left quarter, diagonally across the bottom left quarter, and then hit the home straight for Cape Town across the bottom right quarter. Three clear parts to our long and at times drawn out passage. Today we crossed the crease into the second quarter and it feels good. We are making progress and we hope that the weather gods enable us to cut the corner in this new quarter so that we pick up the home straight a bit earlier for that is the key to making Christmas Day.

You would not believe the amount of time that we spend studying the chart, running through every possible scenario to see what is and isn't possible. Our bench mark is of course the original voyage and its become clear that those guys knew their stuff and were sailing hard. Our feeling is that we will start to have a realistic handle on progress in eleven days time.

Christmas is still very much in the frame but we do need some help from the weather gods and at the moment we have a good wind and course. Let's hope it holds for a while for Christmas in Cape Town is all we ask and hope for.

In the meantime, I am going to savour crossing that crease and all the effort that went into it with a quiet Talisker for it deserves it.

Cheers Pete

Eliot has just relieved me and I am sat by the chart table at a loss as to what to say in today's blog which is unusual as it just seems to pour out normally. Perhaps it's because I feel so chilled out after a really nice couple of hours on the helm. We have had a gorgeous day with about fifteen knots just aft of the beam and the boat romping away at 6-7knts. The sun has been out and being Saturday its been fun in that we open our presents from Tracey. It's a real highlight for Eliot and he was delighted with a Chris Ryan book and a packet of sweets. As to mine; well, in Falmouth during our last night with the families Tracey, Livvy, Gina and Kimmy were giggling away in a corner and wouldn't say what it was about but that I would find out. It was a Borat Mankiny and false moustache and the note that came with it said: "picture not for the website". I tell you we were in stitches as I did a strut on the foredeck for the camera, and if you want to see it donations to the charity please!

The other ritual on Saturdays is that we always have a really nice meal and a bottle of Skinners to wash it down with. It's a nice routine and something that we look forward to and make an effort for. My watch spanned the meal and that's why I am sat here feeling so chilled. I guess it's also because we have had a great 24hrs with a shave, wash, clean clothes, an easier motion and a noticeable drop in temperature which has enabled a decent sleep.

In a nutshell, it's just good to be alive at the moment and I can't say any more than that.

Cheers Pete