Day 7

Distance run in last 24 hours: 151 nautical miles

Distance to destination: 1762 nautical miles

Things have taken a marked turn for the better.  By making a westerly course yesterday Alcedo punched through the 'vigorous squall line' that had been making life a misery.  We came out of the rain this morning, into pleasant sailing conditions with sunny skies and only a few distant clouds.  Even better, the wind had shifted to the north west, which has enabled us to tack to the south west and to set a course directly to our destination in St Lucia.  This happy state of affairs will not last of course, but for the moment we are enjoying the sensation of sailing in the right direction! All the wet weather gear has been dried on the guardrail and we have been able to open the hatches and get some welcome air through the boat.
We have not seen any dolphins for the past couple of days, but are at times accompanied by one sea bird or other.  While steering through one of the more miserable watches yesterday, I was distracted and entertained by a frigate bird that swooped and glided around the yacht for 20 minutes or so.  Impervious to the winds and rain, he disappeared off to the east.  
While Jane was on watch in the middle of the (very dark) night, she noticed something flapping the cockpit.  Thinking this was a piece of paper she reached to pick it up, and was startled to find she had a flying fish in her hand.  I was pleased to see several of these remarkable creatures  skimming over the waves this morning.
We have now been at sea for one week, during which we have sailed 1172 nautical miles.  Due the wind and currents, these have not all been directly towards St Lucia, unfortunately.  The GPS now gives us our distance to destination, and it will be good to see this figure decline over the next few days.  But where, where, where are the trade winds?