We saw a ship last night, just one cargo ship that passed several miles in front of us. Nothing else.

The sea has moderated a little and swell is now down to about 3m, with the occasional bigger wave, but all from behind and the motion is not bad. I now have complete faith in Merel’s ability to handle the boat and so I slept well and feel refreshed this morning. The wind is good and we continue to sit on our hull speed of 7.2 knots with a partly furled genoa and the staysail. Anjea loves the twin headsail arrangement and the steering is light and easy, with the occasional glitch when the Raymarine Autopilot fails to correct for a bigger wave.

Merel prepared a lot of food before we left so ‘cooking’ is a matter of heating something up, which means delicious healthy food with minimum fuss. We have a midday muesli or granola with fruit and yoghurt, and then a hot evening meal. If we feel the need we snack but try to fast between the evening meal and our midday breakfast. It’s simple, nourishing, ‘happy’ food.

Settling in to this leg has been a bit easier as the rolly Saint Helena mooring helped us keep our sea legs.