Finally we are properly reaching, and Roxy is rocketing along in the
Easterly trade winds!

Last night I had eased the sheets and set the ORC inside the Solent and
so I marked all the sheets with electrical tape so that I had an idea
for the trim, as it is hard to see all the tell-tales perfectly at
night. That way, I use the apparent wind angle to help me get the
perfect trim (along with feeling and boatspeed.)

Early this morning was the first time I managed to get a long sleep - 2
sleeps of just over an hour - luxury! I think I needed that. I'm
planning to get more sleep today. It really helps when the boat is
zooming along effortlessly, as it puts my mind at ease and I know that I
can't do anything more to go any faster, so I allow myself the break!

When I awoke the second time, Maisonneuve was just in front of us! I had
been looking out for him but at night the lights are hard to see. He was
under gennaker, and me solent, but we were faster and we zoomed by! He
is just behind us now on our line. I tried calling on VHF and Iridium,
but I saw that Jean-Baptiste was busy at the helm!!

Now I am sailing with one reef, as the wind has built to 18 - 20 knots
and we were starting to take off a little bit out of control which is
much fun, but the road is yet long and the objective of this race is to
finish and hence qualify for the Vendee Globe, so I put my sensible
hat on (once clearly in front of Maisonneuve!) and took a reef!

It is really hot here, and on deck it is wet, so the options are dry +
too hot or wet and OK! I have chosen the mostly dry option as the pilot
is steering nicely and it is better for my skin to avoid the salt water!
At the end of the day I will venture outside with my shower gel to have
a "natural" shower!

Have a great end to your weekend!
Sam x