Another cracking day here on Nasdaq - we broke our 300nm per day barrier! Conditions are settled, if challenging, meaning that everybody has had a chance to get used to living on the angle and everybody has rotated through helming.
We have spent most of the past couple of days in and out of visual and AIS (Automatic Identification System) range of Hotelplanner.com and, as I remarked to Conall over the VHF, it's nice to see another boat and know that you have company after a week alone. And it's especially nice when that other boat is behind you. But we know there's a long way to go yet, and with the positions changing every update, and the fleet still close enough to throw a metaphorical blanket over, anything can still happen.
By happy coincidence, we also passed halfway ... sort of. Our distance logged is now greater than our distance to finish, so although we don't quite look half way on the chart, we are celebrating anyway!
Given the damp conditions onboard we've been having the same trouble as Wendo with trying to write on wet waterproof paper. So, here's my idea Wendo (I'm an ideas man) - a permanent marker, aka "sharpie" or maybe "tixta" to you. Seems to work for us.
The Nasdaq Bistro served up some very interesting Scottish-Swiss fusion cuisine yesterday, courtesy of Clipper Race veteran, Graham Curran, and Francois Chappuis. Cooking for 19 people whilst your kitchen is being bounced around you at crazy angles isn't easy, but you did it well boys.
Back up on to the deck now - I've just heard screaming (the good kind, I hope) so there may have been a new speed record set as the swell increases and we start surfing more. Phil "Henri Lloyd" Wilkinson's long stint as Top Gun (and he does have the aviators to match!) was ended by Jon Wedgwood's 20.3 yesterday ... who will be next?
Cheers, Rob