Hello everybody, hope you are well!
Not heaps to report out here really, we are trying our hardest to catch the pack in front of us. Sometimes we gain a little, sometimes they gain a little. The wind has been a source of frustration recently with it being quite inconsistent in both strength and direction, which has been providing our helms with quite a challenge as well as me and Mike who are trying to set the boat up to make the best speed possible. It looks like we are going to miss the worst of the large low that has been steadily progressing north in front of our track, and instead we find ourselves racing a large wind hole which is racing up behind us.
It’s quite chilly these days on deck and crew are coming out the companionway looking larger and larger as the layers are rapidly being applied. Still, the good hot food from the galley supplied by our gallant galley teams keeps us going, and the thought of not being in 50+ knots of breeze in a few days has brought quite a lot of relief to all but the nuttiest of our crew.
On the wildlife front we have seen didly squat, which makes tales of seeing orcas and whales a little galling. We have seen two fishing buoys today and that's about it! One of which despite our best efforts and thousands and thousands of miles of sea room, we still managed to hit... [editor's note: no damage and all fine.]
The mood on board is good, cheered by the fact that we are now under 2000nm from Seattle (in a straight line) so the light is gradually beginning to emerge in the tunnel, with the forecast looking reasonable, hopefully we can tick the miles off quickly!
All the best from the crew, Mike and myself