Spirits are high onboard this morning as we blast back from the rock towards the Scillies with the big green Toe in the Water spinnaker up.

Everyone is into the routine of snatched sleep that sailing shorthanded brings, but everyone feels well rested as we are all well used to it.

After a lousy start when the Portland tidal gate closed in our faces after all the other 60's had got through, we are enjoying some fantastic downwind sailing now after sixty hours of being upwind or in light to no wind, which is where this particular boat really struggles!

It has been good though to get out into a bit of space with the boat, to get offshore with some friends to lighten the load that solo sailors usually do all on their own.

We are a happy crowd and all is well, the fog gone and the sun shining, which makes a huge difference.

The dolphins came to visit and spent half an hour with us just before the Rock, providing Andy and Duff with some good footage, and if they're anything like me, plenty of photographs of empty water with a discoloured streak beneath the surface - the job would be made easier for all if dolphins were day-glow orange!

It hasn't been our race this time - our poor old boat is great going down wind as we are doing now, and reaching too, (we'll be back around the Scillies at around 2130 tonight!), but upwind and in light winds it is painful - there is lots of drag from the wide hull shape which makes us sticky and slows us down, our mast is an average of three metres shorter than the new IMOCA 60's, and we have no daggerboards to "grip" the water and stop us sliding sideways, all of which makes a huge difference as you would imagine! We are just enjoying it now, and making the most of the next few hours of "Champagne sailing", with the sun shining dazzling white off the backs of the gannets.

All is well onboard however, we had a late porridge breakfast because of all the Rock and mark rounding and associated manoevers, and David ate his in record time to get the first driving slot!

Andy is washing up the porridge bowls, and Miles, who has been christened "Sid the Sloth" (see Ice-Age!) due to his excessive sleeping, is heading for his bed and some more "Emergency Sleep"........Miles' words not mine!

Duff is just enjoying the ride for the time being, and we'll get him driving in a bit, when we can prize David's fingers off the tiller!

When we get back to Plymouth, there will just be time for a quick fried breakfast and then get the boat home to Weymouth as I have a meeting on Friday!