'Red sky in the morning sailors warning' came to mind as the sky gave a burst of red across a grey dawn. Sure enough, by lunchtime we were in pouring rain dropping the big mizzen and strapping things down for a blow. So far it has been windy but enjoyable sailing with the wind and sizable waves from aft, so we are making hay whilst we can.

This morning, during Eliot's watch, we had a small container ship pass just to leeward of us at a fair rate of knots so we are not alone out here. We tried to call him up on the VHF to no avail but looking at his course, we did wonder if he had come from Tristan Da Cunha which is to the SW of us about 700NM away. They look fascinating and I have heard that there is quite a big community. Such a shame to not be stopping for I am sure it would be fascinating to see how they live so far from anywhere.

Although I wouldn't say that we have quite hit the Southern Ocean, I would say that things have taken another step in the right direction. As of this morning we have packed away our shorts and donned thermal bottoms and socks. Boots and full Musto gore-tex foulies have become the norm on deck. Oddly enough this is at odds with the wind forecast in that Lee tells us there is a high between us and Cape Town. This is most unusual and very disappointing after the big mile days that we have been banging out; 170NM yesterday.

With light and variable airs ahead and 1999NM Miles to Cape Town we can but hope for a break and keep grinding away at the miles. My feeling is that we should have a handle on our ETA by Thursday, but you never really know out here.

Cheers Pete

This morning has so far been amazing in that Mark was still wide awake when I relieved him so we put the world to rights over a couple of cuppas. Out of the blue a tiny flying fish, only an inch long, landed on top of the hood. How something that small could propel itself so far is staggering, and the good news is that it was still very much alive. A quick picture to capture its color and back it went, none the worse for wear.

Not half an hour later and something big caught my eye just by the boat, big, big enough to stop the heart. I stood up to realise that we were about to be nudged mid ships by a large whale. Right there under my nose, not more than ten feet away and I can't tell you what a thrill it was to be in the presence of something so majestic. It seemed to sense us just before impact and turned side on and it was amazing. Mark had leapt on deck by now and we shouted below as we left it in our wake, Eliot managed to get up in time to see our first big whale whilst Andy snored through it all. As I type I can still feel the excitement running through my veins.

It's interesting how much life there is out here with lots of birds, and we now have confirmation that the strobe we saw the night before last was a Vendee Competitor. I find that amazing when you think of the expanse that we are spread across. Raphael passed relatively close by but will have been way out of sight, so at least we have shared the same wind for a while. Interestingly, when you read the original log of the Mystery they actually sighted a good few ships between now and Cape Town so the density of vessels will have been much higher back then. On 26 December they logged: "Spoke the Brig 'Calloo' from the west coast of America bound to Liverpool 49 days out by which ship we have sent a letter." This density will have partly been thanks to sailing ships having to follow the same route based on prevailing winds.

I guess they will have seen a lot more whales than us for the stock will not have been decimated at that time. I often think of them and it struck me how little they make mention of food in their log. They refer to broaching a barrel of salt pork at one point, but beyond that they are more likely to mention what they have caught. Flying fish on the deck, off Cape Verde there is mention of drying fish so as one would expect they must have caught as much as they could. They also mention Albatross about the boat and their disappointment in not catching one. I guess the 'Ancient Mariner' had yet to be written.

Although they don't mention it they must have taken something to cover scurvy for it was recognized by then as was the cure. As for us we have the luxury of vitamin tablets which I have started to issue as our fresh ran out a few weeks back. We do have some limes left which we are saving for our pancake days and of course we have tinned fruit. Having not really cruised before one of the lessons of this leg is that we should have taken a lot more fresh for it keeps better than I had expected. Cape Town will put that right for it wasn't known as the 'Horn of Plenty' for nothing.

Cheers Pete

'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