So you are tourists no?

Well we have about another 60 miles before we are out of the race boats route, and the wind has dropped since yesterday to 14-16knots, and gone ESE. We had 148nm day ,yesterday , and in 16 miles we will have less than 1000 to Ilha Grande, and in 24 we will have done the same from Ascension. Reasons for two drinks at happy hour this evening!! Had an interesting chat with watchkkeper on freighter "Silvretta" last night. They came up behind us on a similar course, heading for Rio. They were doing 15kn to our 6.6, and it looked like they would cross two or three miles in front of us. When he was 6 miles behind , I called him up to alert him to our position 6 miles ahead on his stb bow. No problem, he says, I'll turn to starboard ! Port you mean, I'm on your starboard! Ok, no problem, I turn to port! About 10minutes later, he calls to say " Hokay, I see you now, but tell me, its not my business I know, but where are you from, and where are you going, and what are you doing in the middle of the South Atlantic?" Sailing vessel Sheer Tenacity, out of Cape Town, via St Helena, Ascension Island, now en route to Rio, I reply. "aha, so you are a tourist ,no?" While writing this, my kicker block exploded, and is no more! Just as well Gerfried says you dont need one on a Shearwater! We have the full Genoa poled out to port, a single reef in the main, to starboard, on a preventer, and the staysail to starboard closing the slot, while running directly down our rhumb line. Its working very well, and we are doing a comfortable 6.2 to 7.2 in 13/14knots of wind from 150deg on port quarter, despite the quite big swell. Position at noon 15.24S,28.28.6W. Till tomorrow!