The Queen Jane sailed through most of the night in good wind on the same heading of 235M we have been steering for some time. At about 4am however the wind diminished and shifted about during a series of small squalls passing and by 5am the wind was from the North East at 15k. We adjusted course to the West to avoid having to reset the sails in the dark.

At daylight we gibed the main over and struck the spinnaker pole and took up a course with the wind about 130 degrees off the stbd quarter. At 8am we are on a heading of 185M (194True) making 6k over ground in 15k wind from the NE. We have calculated that we are in the ITCZ now and expect to exit the band of unstable and variable conditions sometime tomorrow.

At 6pm local time we have been making excellent time today on a broad reach in 15-20k wind from the NE. Right now we are on a heading of 180M making 7.5k over ground and the conditions remain unchanged.

At 11pm tonight, for the first time since leaving Mexico we started the engine and are now motoring South at 6k in 6k of wind from the NE. The Queen Jane was making about 2.4k over ground when we decided to use the engine and it would have been ok if the swells weren't making the sails slat around making the most awful noises.