04 July 2011

After a nice start yesterday with Clarke Murphy helped by Ian Budgen and Giullermo Attadill getting us well off the line and leading out of Newport, we have had a frustrating night. Last evening was spent negotiating the Nantuket shoals and then the Georges Bank. As we cleared these the heavens opened and it poured eventually shutting the wind down for several difficult hours while the rest of our fleet have kept going fast on the line inshore of us.

At last (12 UT 4t July) we are back in reasonable gradient wind and off the continental shelf, so no more lobster pot hang ups.

Toasted sandwiches are the back-up to freeze-dried and coffee. It is still relatively warm, in fact we are just now in part of a Gulf Stream eddy which is also giving us a favourable push north east.

Tomorrow we should be up towards Newfoundland, until then we will see what we can do to pull forwards in our pack.

Cheers Hugh, Navigator