Just when we thought it couldn't get any harder . . . .

. . . . it did!
We found ourselves battling with south easterly winds. We battled for as long as we could to maintain our position, but after one large freak wave, crashing us beam on and leaving us with more adrenaline than a girl could ever need, we decided to put the para anchor out.
The weather pushed us back up north in 8 hours, what it had taken us 30+ hours to row. It is the most gut wrenching feeling ever, especially as you have no control what so ever over it.
Another freak wave caused panic as it nearly caused Karen & Duncan (our resident plastic ducks) to be washed over board. Luckily Duncan found safety in the toilet bucket (best place for him really) and Karen, with the aid of her buoyancy aids was found bobbing in the gully.
We were cooped up in the cabin yet again, like sardines being thrown around in a kwik save trolley, and this time it was even worse. Due the clouds we've had consistently for the past 5 - 6 days we had no solar power left, so no light to read, no charge on ipods for music or laptop for emails. Sat phone had to be switched off most of the time too. On a scale of 1 - 10 we felt minus 5!
Some messages from home were as always a boost to morale, some making us smile while some just reminded us of how detached we had placed ourselves from "normality". Yesterday, we thought would bring a change of mind set after Kilcullen the safety vessel called to say it was on our way to see us (tracking beacon down again). We gazed at the horizon patiently all day waiting to catch a first glimpse of them, and as the day went on we convinced ourselves that every crashing wave was the white of their sails. At 6pm and still nothing, we called them "Oh sorry girls, we went to see another female pairs crew instead!" "oh" So there we were stood up in the Atlantic even. The other girls must have better bikinis is all we can think . . . .
So as we finish our 5th week at sea, we start another day with strong easterly stopping all our efforts from going south. Talk of trade winds below 18 degrees North is like salt in a wound. But always a silver lining, at least the sun is back with us today ... and there's talk that Kilcullen might come visit us (if they are brave enough!)