Reporting from 350 miles West of Mexico.

We have had a few problems, but the boat is still floating, still running, and we haven't hit anything!

The internet and satphone have been down for a couple of days, but Dave, who is very tech-savvy, called a guy from KVH (on the emergency irridium handheld, which is working well) who explained in detail, a techno-fix, which was basically to switch the system off and on again, which required strength and dexterity because of the crazy location of the switch. 

There was a potential serious problem yesterday when Justin noticed that the sea chest (where seawater is sucked into the boat and then distributed to various systems that require it) had air in the top of it, which is not what you want at all. A quick call to Jeff Merill From PAE, who explained that you can loosen the top, 'burping' the air out, and it was fine again. Air continues to appear, and we continue to burp. We can't be certain where the air is coming from (bubbles in the water? hole in the hose?) but it is not serious enough to prevent us from continuing on our way.

The third issue is the watermaker. It won't make water. Justin and Captain Mike (help I've gone informal!) are changing the membranes as I speak, and we all hope this will do the trick because while we have enough water to drink, unless we fix the watermaker, we don't have enough to shower, and the drawback of that requires no further explanation.

Each person seems to have their skills. Dave is really pulling his weight with his understanding of the onboard computer systems, Justin, who is only 29, knows who to fix the mechanical stuff and can be seen emerging from the hot engine room literally dripping with sweat. Mike is the man of experience, master of the SSB radio and the big picture, and I, um, can make tasty mango smoothies.

The weather so far is amazing, with little in the way of wind or waves.

We are starting to settle into a rhythm of four hour watches, and I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something inherently hilarious about the journey. Dolphins come and say good morning although I haven't seen them yet, although I wish I had, it would give the trip more porpoise.

If anyone wants to call us for any reason, at great expense to themselves, we are available on

00 870 764 951 492 or 00 881 622 414 828. The last number can receive SMS texts.