We are now about 40 miles to the finish. Without a pole we have not been able to run downwind and so it has taken us longer gybe/reaching. The winds have been slightly too strong for the cruising chute and not strong enough to use just the small staysail goosewinged to go straight downwind. ..very frustrating. However we have enjoyed reading, listening to music watching the occasional DVD even getting the French books out to relearn all I have forgotten. The clarinet has been out of the case vonly once, but there is plenty of time yet. Yesterday we had a lunch of minute steak sandwiches to test the steak, it was excellent and so we had fillet steak roast peppers onions and fried potatoes for evening meal... excellent. The crew watched rising damp while I washed up. This morning it became light around 0800 and we were surrounded by small dolphins. They played around the boat for an hour. We could see another rally boat Cleone 3 miles ahead and spoke to them on the VHF. We had been tracking them all night on the radar and so he was pleased to know he could be seen. Cleone's SSB radio is the clearest in the fleet and most days he has been the net controller, taking down the yachts positions and encouraging further chit chat amongst the fleet. We are hoping to be in before dark but it is a tall order as there appears to 1 knot of current against us. The days pass quite quickly it is amazing how much there always seems to do.