42' 41N 66' 24W

The introduction to the Global Challenge for our new BP Explorer Crew, Americans Drew Morrell and Dennis Boyd, has been a peaceful one. Since an exciting and close start, we have been gliding through calm seas, accompanied by dolphins and pilot whales. "This is just like the brochure," Dennis enthuses, "and not dissimilar from sailing on Lake Michigan!" Drew, from Long Beach, California, is well used to a relaxed attitude but has been struck by the atmosphere on board: "Obviously the racing is fierce, but it is very laid back - it's great!" Not all of our BP Explorer Crew have had such gentle conditions to settle into and, indeed, it really would be helpful to have some more wind. If we continued at this speed, we would not get to France until 16 July, and according to our diaries we have an entirely different party to go to that day!

Currently heading through the Fundian Channel, we are just about to cross from Maine to Nova Scotia, 60 miles to the north. Not far away is the Bay of Fundy, famous for having the greatest tidal flow in the world, followed a close second by my home waters of the Bristol Channel. Out here the seas
are a somewhat different colour than I see there, in Watchet Marina, but the air has certainly had a more familiar feel to it since we left Boston. There is a fresh warmth to the bright, beautiful days, with no hint of the mugginess we have grown used to, and by night it is startlingly clear and nippy - a climate just like the best of an early, English summer! The
sunsets are pretty good too; last night, as the sun sank over our left shoulder, the full moon was already risen as we were surrounded by a perfect horizon of seamlessly melted pinks to blue and the bright light of Venus to the north-west.

The prognosis for the next few days is more of the same - no doubt we will be able to see other Challenge yachts for much of the journey, with everyone desperate to cover their positions and fight for more points. About four days away is Waypoint Charlie, at 42o North, which has been added to the
course to keep the fleet south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the ice brought down from the Arctic shelf by the Labrador Current.

Another reminder that we are heading home is that we are now charting our progress from left to right on the computers - a very disconcerting sight after all that sailing the 'wrong way' at the bottom of the world. VAIO are
out in front of us, slightly to the south, whilst we have Spirit of Sark to port and Barclays Adventurer and Samsung neck and neck to starboard. It is not clear whether we lie in third or fourth at this precise moment, but the scheds, due in an hour, will hopefully bring us some good news.