Haggis at Sea...

DAY 6 - 30th November 2007

Position: 23º 42' N 30º 00' W
Bearing: 275º
Distance to go: 1814 Nm

02.00 to 06.00. We're convinced that A watch have a friend above as each time we swap shifts the swell or the wind picks up. Ten minutes into our watch and we were surfing down some great swells. Record of the night was 11 knots. By now we are a well oiled reefing machine, put them in and take them out in seconds. Good job too as were living on the ragged edge of adhesion! Is that the Volvo 70s team coach on the phone? We're available at a very high price.

3 hours of deep, dark sleep and I was woken by Kate to tell me Rick was about to play the bagpipes to welcome in St Andrew's Day. Strapped to the bimini surrounded by his Saltaire it was a splendid sight for our select audience.

Susie marked the occasion with Thai peanut noodle salad laced with...you guessed it...haggis! Very nice it was too.

We had a new ingredient for Susie today, a flying fish that landed on the deck during the night. Unfortunately it wasn't seen by the crew and so ended its days on the deck of Northern Child. It really is the most peculiar sight, a fish with wings. We're waiting for a bigger catch before fish soup can be served.

Our afternoon watch was much more relaxed with some lovely sunshine, time for another attempt with the sextant. I think Mark would be better off without Kate and I hampering his maths. We are getting closer to our gps position each time. Best news is that we can confirm we are in the Northern Hemisphere in the Atlantic.

The boat is performing really well, despite the best efforts of our motley crew. Julian described it as an ocean going boat and it proves its pedrigree as it dances on top of the swells.

With Jeremy fully on the mend our watches are full of chatter. Tim is our strong silent crew and sometimes I feel sorry that he has to put up with some of the worst jokes heard at sea. Luckily for us we haven't seen another boat for 3 days.


You can track the progress of Northern Child, which is updated every hour, on their web site at: northernchild.com