Today has been a slow but good day in that it's been busy which is always nice for it is a distraction from our pace on the water. My sense is that on the final reckoning we will have had a better day than yesterday when we only managed 29NM which is pretty dire when you have 4208NM to go. If you are wondering we had a request come in on the blog asking us to put up our distance to go on a daily basis.

Last night saw the sails down for most of the night although we did try just about everything we could think of to keep her moving. The best thing seemed to be just the secret weapon and the mizzen strapped in really tight to try and reduce the rolling. Horrible is the only word I can come up with and of course the final outcome was a huge great tear in our lovely Cornish sail. That's one of the reasons today has been busy as the needle and thread plunged back and forth along a seven foot tear. Now this is an ideal opportunity to thank Hugh Shoulders who made us the most amazing sail repair kit and canvas bucket. Hugh; the bucket is in use all the time and I felt like a surgeon when I rolled out your sail makers. Brilliant thanks.

The other repair was re-sewing the leather on the main mast hoop which has a tendency to chafe through over time. A nice job when it's not wet although I have to say it was cold, in fact it's become really cold these last couple of days with thermals, hats and gloves being the norm. It took about an hour and with Andy on the helm we were able to have a chat and enjoy watching the bird life going on about us, as ever loads of inquisitive Albatross'. The highlight was a huge sunfish, its giveaway being that classic floppy fin and it was right on the nose. Mark was asleep but Eliot shot up and it was worth it for it was huge, would have weighted about a ton looking at it, very strange shape.

At the moment we are making anything between two to three knots and are hoping that the wind will rise a couple of knots such that it will fill the big lug which has spent the day languishing on deck. Be good to hear a bow wave towards Melbourne again.

Cheers Pete

Well, what can I say; I relieved Mark at 1800hrs and have spent it below cooking a honey roast ham with mash and pea's. The Tiller has been lashed throughout as we wallow away on an oily sea and no visible sign of wind on the horizon. Pudding was a couple of custard creams and conversations about how this leg is stretching out and we are powerless to do anything about it.

You might think it's lonely down here, it can certainly feel a desolate place at times but today it has been alive with social activity. If there is no wind then Albatross don't fly and what does anybody do when the shop shuts down? Congregate for a cuppa and a gossip and this is just what they have been doing along with another smaller bird that frequents the sky down here.

The Albatross have been tapping beaks and waving their wings in a courtly manner; a 'my wings are bigger than yours type of show for the girls'. What is fantastic is that they are completely fearless and have swum right up to the boat and that is when you really see the size of them. Oddly enough we have also seen a number of turtles over the last few days and the mind boggles at how they can find each other. In fact Eliot saw an Albatross have a good old peck at one, not that it seemed to take heed.

Well, that's my watch done, not a mile in sight and Eliot who has taken over is sitting on the engine box playing patience. An appropriate game for we have 4237NM to go. Mandy has emailed to say that someone has asked, through the website where St Paul's is; about 38.5S and 78E or roughly half way between Cape Town and Melbourne. If you go on Google Earth start at the Kerguelen Isles and go North with a bit of east in it.

Today's thank you goes to Martin Gundry for the beautiful saloon table that he made us. Martin, your wish has been fulfilled in that many chats, meals and glasses of wine have been enjoyed round your centrepiece. Look forward to catching up at London Business School for a cuppa on my return and hope the extension to your workshop is as you hoped. In fact I'll swing by to check it out and see what project you have on the go.

Cheers Pete

This place seems to be either full on or off for we are just starting to pull through what has been a proper old blow these last twenty four hours. It didn't have many distinguishing features about it apart from a deep and fast moving front which hit us with a vengeance in the darkest of hours. Spirit of Mystery was well snugged down and feeling comfortable under the number two, two reefs in the working lug and mizzen. We were expecting the front but it still managed to be a surprise for the wind suddenly shot up with gusts of over forty knots. Andy, who was on the helm shouted for all hands and by the time I had my foulie bottoms on the wind had backed through forty degrees and it was mayhem on deck.

It took an hour and half of hard work to drop the mizzen, gybe the jib and then drop the working lug before Andy Gybed her to steady down the wild motion, while Mark and I stowed the working lug and hoisted the mizzen on the main mast which is a first and I have to say it worked a treat. The night could not have been blacker as angry tumbling wave crests rushed past glowing with agitated phosphorescence. Looking at the barograph on coming below the front showed itself with a steep sided 'V' which was so pronounced that it wouldn't look out of place lined up in the alphabet.

Lee has told us that there is yet another calm patch ahead of us which may well have head winds and that we must get south as quickly as we can. This has made for some hard sailing as we have had to bear the brunt of this gale on the beam but I have to say good old Spirit of Mystery has done us proud. Another feature of the blow has been that the temperature has really dropped and we are starting to feel the cold on deck if not well wrapped up. In fact Eliot has just relieved me and I took the opportunity to do the dishes in the bucket on deck and my hands had got that cold that the water felt really quite warm - silver lining in every cloud.

As with the last leg we spend a lot of time thinking about the destination and I have to say we are really looking forward to Melbourne. In fact, and I think it might be on account of the weather, we are looking to a pasty. A pint and a pasty would just hit the spot and I couldn't think of anything more appropriate at the end of this voyage from Cornwall. Progress is very slow on account the weather systems that we have been suffering. If we do get parked up for another handful of days we will have to start looking at our rations with a view to this being a lot longer leg than expected so we have everything crossed for a more settled period. St Paul's is certainly looking like it might have to drop of the menu.

We have been surrounded by the largest and most majestic of Albatross so far and it's interesting to see that spend quite a lot of time sitting together in the water. In fact it's interesting to see that all the different variety of birds are happy to sit in a group. We hear it is Kyle Madgwick's Seventh birthday today so we named a huge Albatross which must have had a wing span of fifteen feet after him. We hope you have had a great birthday - ask your Dad to get his tape measure out and to show you how big the Albatross is. Absolutely majestic.

Cheers Pete

Yesterday was a good day for it offered a window where we could draw breath and have some time for a bit of TLC. The sun was out for the first time in a while and we all had a good old wash and shave on deck to be followed by clean undies and thermals - absolute bliss. It's not quite the tropics where we would drown ourselves in bucket after bucket of warm water but the result is just as good. We followed that up with our first meal where we all were able to sit down and break bread as a crew. Up until now the helm has had to remain on his own on deck while the rest of the crew eat below although one us often holds back so the helm doesn't have to eat on his own.

This trend in the weather remained through the night with the most amazing night sky crisscrossed by loads of shooting stars. The wind was fickle and we had to coax for every mile we could get which meant a couple of gybes and sail changes. The big lug received a rip during one of these so it was out with needle and thread for some herringbone stitches. The repair looks as pretty as a picture although I might put a patch on at a later date. It still staggers me at how little wear and tear we have seen in the sails and running rigging. A credit to Patrick Selman who made the sails and this simple rig.

Unfortunately a murky drizzle swept through just after dawn so we were denied a look at the eclipse which is a real shame as we are in a good position to make the most of it. This afternoon the sun came out again and we have been able to enjoy an easy day with light airs from aft. I have been trying to catch up on administration - just can't get away from the office. Andy baked some bread and it was Eliot's turn to cook tonight so we enjoyed one of his noodles. The starter was popcorn with Golden Syrup mixed in.

This is a place of contrast for it's either full on or off; windy one day and calm the next which makes it hard to get into a rhythm. It seems that we are going to have to head down to 42 degrees to avoid a high that has decided to head south in the next couple of days. There's never a dull moment.

Cheers Pete