Close to the equator

Just over a day away from the equator and not sure exactly what time we
will cross over to the northern hemisphere.And whether it will be day or
night,who knows.Brad vouched that he wants to swim to the other side,my
wife wants a photograph of the valiant attempt.Great idea and why not,a
few photos of the initiation which we will post when we make it land
again in Madeira.

For the last few days,a big swell starting rolling through,the trade
wind clouds appeared,and then we had wind.Not heavy,but enough to keep
the miles ticking over.In the late aftenoon the clouds are also getting
a bit more darker and last night we had a five minute drizzle as a cloud
came over and shifted the wind a bit.After the that the wind settled
again and we had a lovely night under sail.We've had a good day of
sailing as well today but the wind is starting to ease a bit as we get
closer to the doldrums,an area with no wind.

Yesterday morning we also filled our fuel tanks again and our
consumption so far is 1ltr/hr.Quite amazing but also takes a team effort
to sail when we can,motorsail when we have to and keep the revs down.It
takes constant monitoring to react to the conditions as they unfold,and
hats off to my crew for doing their part as well.We also have to
conserve battery power when we sail for a while.The solar panels do
help,but once again,we all pay close attention to the battery meters,how
long and when we run the fridge,don't keep lights on at night,save when
and where we can.So far we are bang on target to reach Greece on April
10,averaging 5kts/hr.

Brad's turn to cook tonight,he just told me chicken and butternut
casserole served on a bed of slightly spiced rice.Pieter is fast asleep
in his cabin.He is shaping excellently and have conquered the green
monster.Seems that he should just keep on sailing and not ever stop.It
takes a while for him to get his sealegs,but perhaps he will get better
and better at it.We will see what happens after Madeira.

Our position @ 5pm SA time 02*00'S/020*25'W.About 170nm from the equator
at the angle at which we are approaching.Our waypoint on the equator is
00*00.01'S/022*30'W.From there on we will start heading in a more
northerly direction and take the road as it comes.

Thanks for your interest.

Paul

For supper last night I made meatballs,for the first time.Minced
meat,oats,an egg,onoin,garlic,spices,salt etc and placed it in a baking
tray.Once done,we placed the meatballs on top of spaghetti and covered
this with some tomato and onion mix.A food coma ensued soon
afterwards,except for Brad who the took over watch.