Day 7

1800 Pos 18 40S. 35 30W
Average 22 kn of wind from the East. Occ squalls
Boatspeed 28-37 knots..
Apprx mileage yesterday 640nm

Heading down the endless coast of Brasil today, going fast in good conditions, though with occasional squalls. Not yet heading towards the direction of the Cape of Good Hope, as we still have the St Helena high to pass to the west of..if we took the direct route we would be stuck in light airs. The analogy would be of choosing to take the M25 motorway around London over sitting in traffic in the centre of the city - in the end we will get there much quicker..it does seem odd when looking at our route on the map though, and we are all itching to head SE..

After the doldrums we started sailing nearly upwind at 55TWA but the wind has progressively shifted left as we have sailed southwards, so we are now sailing at 120TWA, with one reef in the mainsail and either the Solent or staysail at the front. Perfect sailing, with low stress on the boat, and relatively high and consistent speeds..

It's always a pleasure to steer this boat, but in conditions like this Yvon and I call it 'driving a Cadillac Eldorado '78' down the highway - straight and smooth..

There is still max concentration at these high speeds from the driver and the trimmers, but the boat just wants to run - we just have to gently guide it down that straight highway in the desert..

Brian