Bermuda > Azores - Day 6: a Force 7 day.

Hello from somewhere in the Atlantic (actually we are approx 1000 miles due west of the Azores). You may notice a change of style in today’s blog, it’s not the fact that we haven't seen any signs of other life since we left causing Andrew to unhinge, it’s because you have a guest blogger - Diorbhail. 

Today’s conditions have been our most challenging so far in terms of waves and wind, but we are downwind and the boat is taking it in its stride. The most shocking moments come when a wave crashes against the flat bottom of the bridge, causing a loud slamming and everyone and everything gets a shakedown. We have averaged 8.7 knots over the last 10 hours and have broken the boat speed record hitting 19.4 knots, which incredibly, you don’t really notice in the catamaran. What you do notice is when the boat catches a wave and surfs down it, truly amazing. Myself and Gill went outside earlier just to get a feel for the conditions and to try and capture what the sea state is like, we were only enticed back in by lunch (Cheryl’s delicious breakfast muffins - thanks!). I think we could have both sat out there for hours enjoying the Atlantic rollercoaster! Amidst these utterly chaotic seas life has continued pretty much as normal on board: coffee, morning cryptic crossword, naps, and our daily card game. Everyone on the boat has sailed through worse, and we have all been on the boat long enough now to trust her, so the air is one of general zen (which is an entertaining contrast as waves smash over the boat flooding in at the back around our feet).

Now you may think that sailing through these conditions shows our perseverance, but what shows true perseverance is when a person (who shall remain unnamed) puts the fishing line out day after day, in all conditions, having so far only caught sargassum, a plastic bag, and some plastic netting. I salute you and look forward to one day eating that fresh fish curry. Over and out for now, normal service will resume tomorrow (or the mutiny will continue and somebody else will take over the blog…).