Well I can’t believe it, a week at sea already and I have covered 1500 miles since the start line at the Lizard Lighthouse in Cornwall.

Time has felt like it has gone very quickly, I can assure you. I am hoping that it will seem that way all the way round the world. As a contrast to the big picture though, there are moments in the day where you are really busy for a period and yet when you check the clock hardly any time has passed. At night, it is even worse. Parts of the night seem to go on forever. Having this much time to oneself can allow you the time to be very reflective. I have had time with my thoughts, which in the whirlwind build up to my departure, I had little time to do that.

I will not get too carried away with sharing these thoughts with you; we have plenty of time for that later! However as the wind speed dropped yesterday afternoon and therefore the boat speed dropped from the blistering pace I set at the beginning of the week I was reminded of some wise words expressed to me in Plymouth during the build up to this voyage. I will push as much as I can, when I can, but ultimately, there is definitely somebody else deciding the weather and the sea conditions that will, when he is ready, allow me to return home.

The bad news is that the weather ahead of me is not very settled with gin and tonic trade winds sailing that Chay promised me before I left. I think even the ARC yachts have seen some differing weather to most years but as a knock on effect from that we also have no established doldrums. Fingers crossed we may be able to get through this area without stopping.

A top tip I took with me on this voyage is regarding routine. I have a number of weekly checks to do with various parts of ‘Aviva’ and also need to take care of the general hygiene of both the yacht and myself. So I have assigned the weekends as domestic time. I have a thorough clean through and tidy up of the yacht, shower and change of clothes for me and work through a checklist for the technical requirements I have to fulfil. I felt that I wasn’t going out anywhere or being invited to any wild parties so I could put the time to good use. But who is out of the X Factor? What has happened?

Dee & Aviva

Follow Dee’s progress at www.avivachallenge.com