On the wings of a nightingale

As was predicted we have 15 kts of wind from behind. Trying to squeeze
every bit out of our sails we are just touching 6 kts here and
there. When you have 15 kts from behind and doing 6 kts you have only 9
kts of apparent wind, the wind that actually comes into the sail. Both
headsails are out, finely tuned and shaped to make the most of what we
have. We are hoping for the true trade winds to show their colours, a
constant 15 to 20 kts south easterly winds. The skies will then be
filled with scattered little puffs of clouds, day and night. Our boat is
a fast boat, but only when there is wind. The run to St.Helena was a bit
slower than anticipated, having been becalmed for a week. We therefore
don't have any reserves in the bank so to speak in keeping to our
schedule which requires 6 kts. A little bit of current also comes in
handy, and especially up the Brazilian coast it plays a big factor.

For supper last night we had some leftovers from the braai at St.Helena.
Chicken drumsticks on a bed of rice went down very well. jane from Ann's
Place also gave us some chilli bean mince,she never lets us go without
something for the road. Tonight's my turn to cook and it will be the
first time we try some soya beans with spaghetti. We have all quickly
settled back into the motion of the ocean and the nightskies was once
again ablaze with stellular delights.Nick downloaded Stellarium on his i
pad and what an amazing little device the i pad is. You hold it to the
sky and it shows you exactly what planetary body you are looking
at. Stellarium has many other great features like the artwork which
gives you a very clear idea of all the images in the sky if you connect
all the dots. Then it also has the astrological imqages from many other
cultures i.e. the Chinese, Astec, Polynesian etc.If you have the
slightest interest in astronomy download Stellarium today.

Bearing Up is our expression for today. One of several colloquialisms
which describes a sailing ship's heading relative to the wind, or to
another vessel. A ship is said to bear up when she brings her head
closer into the wind; when she bears away it means she is steering
further from the wind. To bear down is to steer towards an object - and
frequently this meant an enemy ship., hence the suggestion of a threat;
while overbearing meant simply to come to close.

Our position at 10 am is 15*02'S/007*46'W. We are now also on UTC time
which is two hours behind SA time. We are 1 950 nm from Fortaleza in
Brazil and expect to arrive there on 08/02. 9 500 nm to Tahiti and we
will try our utmost to arrive there well before 08/04.

Take good care

Captain Paul