GOOD MORNING SPIRIT OF HUNGARY, YOU CROSSED THE EQUATOR!
Sprit of Hungary passed Equator at 7H45 UTC. Have a good day!

Tete en bas (vagyis ami franciául fejjel lefelé). Talán viccesebb lenne a kép, ha nem látszódna hogy a bummról lógok.
Napsütéses viszonyok, de nagyon változékony szelek – sok vitorlacserére kényszerítenek.” – C

Greetings from the southern hemisphere, or the Tetes en bas (heads upside down in French).  Maybe the photo would be more funny if it was cropped a little closer to show less that I am hanging off the boom.
Sunny conditions but very changeable winds makes for many sail changes. (C)

Conrad Colman co-skipper log: 16 01 2015

Spirit of Hungary Log by Conrad Colman co-skipper

We are trying to get south but don’t have very much wind. We carried the northerly wind with us very late yesterday even thouhgh you will have seen that our speed was dropping gradually. Then, all of a sudden, the wind from the north stopped and started randomly coming from all points on the compass. We just pointed the boat south and managed still to make 1 to 2 knots of speed while the sails flapped and banged, but it was tiresome progress because we took turns helming because the pilot can do nothing when conditions are so random.
During my watch I received a ray of hope when the wind built from 2 knots, then to 3.5, then 6! I leapt into action and set about hoisting the Code 0 sail (a big flat jib that can be used in many angles and wind strengths) but by the time I had it halfway up the mast the wind was too strong for it and I tied to the deck in the rain. We then make spectacularl progress due south under a torrential downpour that washed the boat of the Saharan dust accumulated over the past week and allowed me to scrub off two weeks of stickiness.
Showering in the runoff from the sail in the doldrums is never a relaxing thing because you never know when someone is going to turn the water off. The worst is to soap up completely then stand there folornly with suds dripping off your fingers while you look for the next cloud to come and wash you off! However, this time it rained solidly for an hour and I had the time wash, and rinse, myself and my socks and base layers. A true luxury and great preparation for the next leg of the trip…. which we’ll be happy to get stuck into if only the wind would come back!