Exody - Days 301&302: Home straight to Africa.

Africa, our last 'new' continent is just 140 miles away, less than a day's sailing. With a favourable current of nearly a knot we have averaged nearly 7.5 knots all day today Sunday 8th and are on track to enter the major industrial port of Richard's Bay 80 miles north of Durban by nightfall tomorrow Monday 9th, just 24 hours behind the leaders. Starblazer's lights are in sight ahead of us, Ayama is 15 miles behind so the fleet is still fairly closely packed after well over 1000 miles.

We have had very agreeable sailing the last two days, almost enough to obliterate the 'get me out of here' experiences of just a few nights ago! We have been lucky to carry the 15- 20 knot winds with us leaving behind us a broad patch of light airs meaning, unfortunately, much diesel fuel will be needed for the back of the fleet to reach port.

Communications for Exody have been transformed this leg with our satellite hotspot- no longer do I spend hours trying repeatedly to get an available station and frequency to answer on the radio and then pray for it not to give up just before the email download bar colours in - this has infuriatingly happened more than once 30 minutes into a 32 minute download! Satellite costs us but it is fast- not yet been online to download or send emails for longer than two minutes at a time. There is also a degree of take up within the fleet on the use of the DSC capabilities of the SSB radios to make one on one 'telephone' calls between boats.

Our only 'fishing' on this passage is with a torch in our well stocked lockers for interesting cans, packets and jars for creative culinary combination with the last of the fresh produce. Marian made a lamb and aubergine dish using corned mutton - surprisingly lamb-flavoured and textured! There was also a salad of garden peas, black eye beans, capers, and sun dried tomatoes with the last quarter pepper and tail end of roquefort.

This is the last of our long 'two-up' ocean passages and we have found ourselves getting into a good routine, mainly surrounding sleep! We are both acquiring the art of short deep satisfactory sleeps through the day. The counterpoint is how hard it can sometimes be to wake the other up. Makes us realise that, particularly on night watch, one is genuinely alone whilst the other deeply slumbers. Lifejackets and hooking on are mandatory!

Peter (Skipper)