The blessing of King Neptune

It has now been two days since we crossed the equator! Moving from the Northern hemisphere into the warm tropical south! We crossed over at about 18:30 local time, with both starboard and port watch present on deck to witness the occasion!
Crossing the Equator by sea for the first time is a very special occasion. We upheld the traditional custom of honouring King Neptune with a small tipple of ship's grog - which came in the form of some plum liquor (made locally by Rupert's family in Somerset). We were warned to expect a visit from King Neptune himself the next day!

As 'predicted' by our Skipper, King Neptune did arrive on deck precisely on time at 16:30! Donned in gold and blue, and armed with his mighty trident, he called the crew to 'court' so he could decide if we were 'worthy' to continue to sail his seas.

We were called out in turn, and a list of 'charges' were brought against us! These were in the form of faux pas committed since leaving Southampton at the end of July. It was very entertaining as we were all passed forward to the 'dip' (a small paddling pool full of out of date UHT milk, and sweetcorn)! Neptune himself took great pleasure in ladling the concoction on the crew, and gave us each a blessing for our onward journey!
The next day, Neptune's blessing was truly fulfilled as the breeze freshened, and allowed us to push the boat faster! ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ accelerated, and held an average of 9-10 knots!

King Neptune also saw fit to bless us with an escort, in the shape of some bottlenose dolphin! Much larger than the Common Dolphin we had seen in Biscay! They played happily around our bow for over 10 minutes before disappearing off into the distance.

We were visited again later that afternoon by another pod of Dolphin. This time we were sailing in some very heavy seas, with the boat really rolling in the heavy conditions. What was impressive for me was the way the dolphins had seen / heard us some way off and made a 'beeline' for us! They shot out of the rolling surf in a spectacular aerial display as they approached, and manoeuvred effortlessly through the rapid currents that engulfed our bows. It was a truly magical moment!

Whilst on watch, we have been trimming the sails continually. 'Gold Coast Australia' and 'Singapore' seemed to pull away at one stage, but today we have seen the 'fruits of our labour' and have now overtaken ‘Singapore’, and are closing in on our Aussie friends!

Our attention is not only on the boats in front, but also on the boats behind us. Whilst we have made some exceptional gains on some of the boats in the rear pack, we are very mindful of those who are chasing us directly, particularly our friends on the ‘New York’ Clipper. She is the one to watch out for after having such a great finish to Race 1. We are attempting to 'cover' her approach in an effort to not only protect our position, but build on our gains on 'Gold Coast'.

Today we have just completed our 'speed trial', which is a timed run between 4 and 5 degrees of latitude. The fastest boat will win an additional point. We have 'sailed the wheels off it' and hope to collect an extra point at race finish!

It is exciting to see Brazil so close on our charts, although we are still very much out at sea. With just under 1,000 miles left, the excitement is building on board 'Welcome to Yorkshire'!