Date23 February at 2254

PositionS 45° 32’/E 132° 58′

After a beautiful sunset and a clear night sky that displayed uninterrupted miles of stars twinkling in their own remote ocean of the atmosphere, the dawn that arrived was more than disappointing. I had returned to the grey world again. There was a drizzle in the air and the sky met the sea with little clarity and colour change.

The good news was that I was still pointing and sailing in a homebound direction.
Also being in the safety of Australian waters and being able to enjoy the relative shelter of land being approximately 600 miles to the north of me was producing flat water to sail through, an enjoyable change from the crashing waves of a few days ago. The marine life had not allowed me to see into their world and even the bird life had taken a day off, so here I was again alone with Aviva.

My days feel as if the are twice the length of a normal day. Even with a full jobs list for the day, it is amazing that I can complete it and it is still not yet the afternoon. It was never that way before I left. I seem to have an increasing amount of time on my hands. Whilst the weather is good there is always something to do and even taking time out to enjoy the journey before it passes me by is fulfilling. However, in bad weather it is more difficult to deal with the extra time. I am trying really hard at getting some valuable rest in this time but I am not very good at that although I am pleased to say I have got better.

The night saw the wind steadily increase but remain in the same direction, more good news. The drizzle remained and the ink black sky blended into the ink black sea with no clear dividing line. Dawn was suspect to say the least. Then in less time that it has taken for me to drink a cup of tea the sky has cleared, leaving patches of blue beneath the white cloud layer. The wind speed has stayed up and the sea state has remained pretty steady making for some good sailing conditions, whilst still enabling me to live without fearing for my health or sanity.

I have a cold front to pass through later today which will see conditions change again but fingers crossed we can return quickly to these conditions once more.

Dee and Aviva