This is it - the day we've been building up to since we left Portsmouth back in May. We've had a great time getting here, so now its time to settle back and enjoy the crossing. We're looking forward to practicing with the sextant and catching lots of fish.

The bars have been full of talk about speeds, wind angles, crossing times. The crews that are looking for the fastest crossings are Raven, Penn Er Karreg and Doppelbock. Its going to be interesting seeing how it plays out having got to know the crews over the last few weeks. My money is on Raven - and Mike is also weather forecaster for the fleet - so may have an advantage given all his satellite gear! Mind you, there could be one or two dark horses in the fleet...

We're looking for a safe, comfortable crossing - so we'll see how the wind develops today before we decide how we're going to get south of the Canaries...