27/5/08  03:00

Dry night. Broken cloud. Some moonlight. Rain clouds gathering. Still poled out and  racking  up over 9 knots. Wind SE Force 6 although it was up to Force 8 for a while. We had a weather briefing  from Antony with no more talk of  going so far North and which confirmed our assessment of the current situation.  We should have good wind for the next few days at least but the situation is still unclear for the end of the week.  We may have to motor through some gaps in the wind.  Alex Wopper has confirmed it should be possible to refuel in Easter Island which is welcome news as Tahiti is still over 3800 miles away.

10:00

The rain never materialized and this morning I woke to the unexpected combination of good wind and only partially cloudy skies with plenty of sunshine.  The Barometer is actually rising. Bliss.

Last night I finished Bill Bryson’s absolutely delightful biography of Shakespeare which I can thoroughly recommend.  It charmingly debunks most of the speculation surrounding Shakespeare and gives a very interesting and humorous insight into life in Elizabethan times. Perfect boat reading.