Yesterday was a quiet day, with Alex spending much time working on the weather and his tactics for the coming few days. After initial confused seas, and gusts of up to 30 knots, the winds dropped during the day, and he was happy to report shaking out the reef that was in place on Monday night, and sailing with the power of his full main once again.

Alex told us with glee that he has adopted an albatross, who apparently answers to the name of ‘George’. “I gave him some of my hot oat breakfast cereal”, reported a light-hearted Alex this morning, “but he wouldn’t land on the boat. George and his pack of friends are following along just behind me. There are about 25 of them at times. They seem more like vultures than albatrosses!”

Alex knows that the conditions will be tricky over the next few days. He needs to continue to extend the distance between himself and the pack behind, whilst also catching the tail end of the group ahead. The approaching weather systems may be an ally or a foe in relation to these twin goals.

He is currently broad reaching at a speed of 10 knots with his full main, and the Solent flying. He is now below 40°S, and the conditions are grey and cold! The sea temperature is just 9°C and the air a measly 10°C at 09h00 GMT.