As we move further east, the weather is somewhat inclement once more. More of a contrast with yesterday's sunshine, and nowhere near as bad as Sunday's weather. We've picked up enough wind to produce waves big enough to generate great curtains of spray when we collide with them.

Even so, we're making around 20 knots, and as we turn the corner around Tunisia, we're hopeful that we'll make even better progress. Even so, as at 8am GMT, with 300 miles to go to Malta, it looks as though it will be around midnight when we arrive, some hours behind what we were hoping for.

The only occasional excitement this morning is that of avoiding lobster pot floats. Getting tangled up with floats and the line which attaches them to the lobster pot below is not what we want at all, as it could damage our prop. But instead of brightly coloured purpose-made floats that are easy to spot, the ones off the Tunisian coast are black plastic oil containers - and they don't exactly stand out against a murky sea.

Out at sea, particularly when the weather's grey, it's very easy to become lost in your own thoughts. The one thing we've all been heartened by is the huge number of messages of support coming into the Spirit of Cardiff visitor centre. We don't get to see them all individually, but the sentiments of many are conveyed to us each day when we check in with base. We're very grateful for every one of those messages, and indeed the financial support through our "Buy a Mile" scheme.

Clive Tully

Copyright Clive Tully ©2002
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