Buffalo girl (and boy) go around the outside

Liz Wardley updates us from Sojasun in the Transat AG2R

Just a quick note to let you know how we are doing on the good ship Sojasun.

It has been quite an interesting start to the Transat AG2R!! We didn't do ourselves any favours by taking a couple of risks that didn't pay off. The first being a westerly route across the Bay of Biscay to avoid bad weather off Cape Finistere, but that was unnecesary and we added miles for nothing along with not being quite fast enough the first night.

We then tried to make up for this loss by taking an inshore route along the coast of Portugal to try and work the land effects (seabreeze etc)and skirt round the east of the High. It seemed to pay off the first afternoon but unfortunately when night came we just got gobbled up by the high again and had another emotional night of sails flapping!!!

So we have taken being at the back of the fleet in stride and are now trying to work out how to negotiate the next big bubble of no wind on the course tonight - the big question is do we need to order out for some new Buffalos or try and find a route through???? all will be reveiled tomorrow, stay tuned!

Apart from sailing round in all the bad places, we are settling nicely into a good rhythm, we had some motoe issues the first night, but 'Nobby to the rescue' got it sorted pretty quick. He is also testing out his cooking skills and managed to win the ultimate 'nob de jour' prize not once, but three times. The first being easing us into the freeze dried diet with Chille con Carne, the first day, the second being having chile con carne on the menu the second day, the third being trying to make the chile con carne that I refused to eat on the third day taste better by adding alls sorts of interesting things - and even nobbers couldn't eat it!!!

We are about 50 hours out from Porto Santo where we have to round a bouy then next stop St Barth. We just have to get through this light patch tonight and then hopefully we are off. I guess before that we need to decide if we are going round or through - Nobbers is out chatting to the buffalo farmers as i write

Till later, Liz and Nobby