Life is a box of chocolates and they are all tasty just different. Certainly some would disagree but adversity, sadness, cold, frustration are all emotions we probably wouldn’t consider tasty chocolates. And at times I would agree but at others the hardships we endure at sea can be so rewarding.

After our last update everything was bliss. And I did say touch wood. But with all things me I decided to push a bit further. Whilst sailing at around 11-12 knots I decided a spot of fishing was required. And luck be have it, we hooked something big and the line was zzzzzzzing away at a rapid rate. All hands needed to get the big gennikar sail away and slow the boat or else we are going to loose both the fish and all our fishing line. Well on this beautiful day with the sun setting and the fish on the line we managed to somehow mess-up the process and broke a part of the furling spool for the sail. We still managed to get it away but with some damage. To make matters worse after about 30-40min fighting the fish we lost it right at the stern of the boat. I guess that’s just life. A box of chocolates.

So the next 2 hours I spent in my workshop working with steel and grinder to make a fix for the furler. Hopefully my engineering will work. Still not tested so wait for the next episode.

Yesterday brought even more fun. And so many records.

- 247nm in 24 hours. A record by miles. Excuse the pun. Before this trip we had only ever clocked 200nm in 24 once.

- 13.9 knots top speed sailing only the white sails and reefs in both. Incidentally this was only in 17-18knots apparent. So pretty awesome.

- A 15 pound skipjack tuna which normally only go to 6-7 pound. Fat and juicy

- The best Tuna fishcakes ever made in history!!!

So I guess life is good. We have completed 1350nm of our 3200nm journey. The sun is shinning again and there is a lovely 16-17 knot breeze, 3knots following current and calm seas.

Love from everyone on SV Arabella.