Champagne Hippy - Day 9 - in the trades

Finally on day 9 we start to get in to the trades proper. windspeed is
up in the 20's from the NE and the boat speed is getting in to the low
teens now, heading pretty much straight down the rhumb line towards St
Lucia.
We have passed several smaller boats over the past couple of days and
wonder if they are the tail enders of the ARC+ fleet or just cruisers
making the most of the company to cross to the Caribbean.
We are expecting the breeze to increase steadily over the next 24 hours
but not too much, so we should have pretty good, fast sailing for the
rest of the crossing.

Yesterday we were building some more flooring in the crew areas as well
as fitting in some AC vents in the cabins and more woodwork.

One generator is down. We think the intake is blocked with something so
we will wait and dive on it when we finish. Everything else onboard
going well. Smash, Rob and Dud have all been late on watch at various
times! So they will have a penalty to pay when we finish - we just need
to decide what it is. Suggestions welcome...

Currently we are still leading the unofficial Oyster race with iSNL,
Intrepid and Albatross following us. Now it is a drag race to the finish.

Cheers for now

Alex

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Oyster 825 - Champagne Hippy