And the wind whispers Mary

The day before last we crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn and
yesterday,as to be expected in the tropics,we had our first little bit
of rain.All around we could see patches of clouds pouring their load
into the see and knew sooner or later we would also get a turn.The
clouds are low and therefore not much squally conditions were
expected.When it was our turn the wind shifted just a little,speeded up
a fraction and lovely fresh rainwater poured over us and rinsing all the
soot from Cape Town and the salt deposits from the last six days
clean.It's good and clean and fresh ...The water temperature is up to
21*C.

For the last few days we have witnessed the wind gradually shifting from
NW to W to SW to S to SE where it should more or less settle for a while
and become what is known as the trade winds,a constant wind direction
and speed.We are now well set for our final run to St.Helena,about 500
nm ahead of us.Depending on how strong the wind will blow we could
arrive at noon on Monday which would be fantastic.It will allow us to do
some preventitive maintenance,fill our water tanks and have Tuesday free
to explore the island and mingle some.Wednesday morning we will set sail
again for the coast of Brazil.

Yesterday was Malcolm's turn to prepare supper and we were firstly
treated to an omelette with bacon,cheese,tomato,onions and toast.Sorry
if you haven't had breakfast yet.For supper we had lovely tuna
steaks,potato wedges,coleslaw and mayonaise.With all this cuisine it is
no wonder the crew need to exercise to get in and stay in shape.I have a
fast metabolism and do some exercise on the quiet to keep my muscles
toned and ready for any eventuality.Gareth wants to build some,Malcolm
wants to trim some,I am just maintaining.

For mental fitness we read quite a bit.Gareth,as it is with the younger
generation,is getting to nibble on the habit of reading,Malcolm who has
evolved from reading Stephen King and Louis Lamour is in the swing of
things and for me reading is like breathing.The full moon is hovering
overhead,giving us the eye from a fairly clear sky.Our postion this
morning at 3 am was 20*11'S/002*33'E.The barometer is at 1015,temperature
20*C,wind SSE at 13 kts.

May you have a wonderful Friday and may the weekend not be too swift.

Paul