Day 17 to 38:08N 39:09W Wind F5-6S 200nm

It's 9pm and we're doing 9 knots, we have 28 knots of apparent wind 60 degrees off the bow, 2 reefs in the main and 80% Genoa - it's cold, must be the windchill. The bow dips into a wave, big splash, no problem, tilt head forward and spray hood deflects water harmlessly away behind you. I don't know why I don't like wearing the spray hood; it's a combination of claustrophobia and concern that you can't keep a good watch through the little eye slit. I usually only use it when it rains. Anyway at 9 knots one packet of spray turns out to be enough to entirely fill two long rubber seaboots and soak a rather tasteless pair of flowery boxer shorts. I put the hood up and empty the boots. My head is now quite warm, other than that I might as well be sitting here in swimming trunks. No problem though, Justin is on in a minute, in fact here he comes. He hasn't got his spray hood up, should I say something? I don't know, after all personal experience is an important part of this trip. Justin should have an easier ride as I've turned back on to our earlier course after taking a few miles off the cross track error. I have been handsteering while it is light so I can head more into the swell and turn if necessary to minimise the impact if there is a particularly big wave coming. I am sure Jim and Justin will be able to do this but I haven't yet taught Louise how to hand steer with the compass. Anyway, none of us can do this in the dark and its important people get some rest.

On a regular map a straight line between two nearby places represents the most direct route. A 1,000 mile straight line on a large scale map is in fact a curve on the surface of the earth and not the most direct route. If you follow a single compass bearing from start to finish you will be tracing a curve on the map but travelling in a straight line across the globe. Regular maps are Mercator projections and the lines from top to bottom (Longitude) are straight when in reality they should be curved. The map I am using is a gnomic projection with curved longitude lines so I can draw a straight line from point to point knowing it is the shortest route. Anyway, this afternoon I plotted our actual position on the chart (from the GPS -too cloudy for a noon sight with the sextant, not to mention that I can be 50+ miles out in bouncy conditions) and drew a line from our position this morning to it. I then measured the direction of the line with a Portland plotter and discovered that we are averaging 75 degrees not the 82 we are aiming for because of the constant weather-cocking movement from the waves and high winds. We are off course 9 miles and if we keep this up we could miss Faial in the Azores by 45 miles to the North. Normally we would just alter our autopilot heading a few degrees to compensate but at the moment that few degrees is the difference between a quiet night's sleep and lots of loud bangs so it's going to be better to change course in the morning and hand steer if required. I just heard a most enormous splash from the helm station and I do hope that Justin remembered to put up his hood. Our weather forecast had no East in the wind until late on Friday but it has got here early. If it keeps coming around so it is a full Easterly we are going to have a very unpleasant few hundred miles.

We just had lunch which was Tuna melts with Clam Chowder which Jim "passed" on as he doesn't do shellfish. We turned 30 degrees Northwards during lunch so we could eat without souping the walls and have now turned back.

Our noon run today is a record for me 200 logged miles and 186 over ground. If any of the owners group has done better I'd like to know (Tito?). Also in aggregate our log for the last 2 days has been 357 over ground and 382 logged.

Well I suppose that's it for moral standards on this boat. Justin is sleeping in Louise's bed. Admittedly, only while she's not in it but "hotbunking" does have something of a racy sound. Louise took pity on Justin who is not getting any sleep through a combination of being bounced in the air half the time and having to share with Jim. I think Jim's sense of humour and particularly his recent description of Justin as his "Ocean wife" may have been the final straw. Louise's and my cabin being at the back of the boat are less prone to bangs and fast drops. The starboard holding tank is now fixed thanks to the digester so I won't have the scuba dive from hell under the boat with a roto rooter.