Its been great to spend a few weeks in St Lucia. Once I was resigned to the fact that I had to wait here until everything showed up I really enjoyed being here. But Im all ready to leave now so I'm heading out this afternoon.
You need to have a minimum of 4 people on the boat to transit the Panama Canal which means  there is no way I can do that part of the journey singlehanded so I am taking a French guy who was looking for a ride to Panama with me. 
His name is Robin and he sailed here as a crew from Europe. It will be strange having someone else on the boat but the company will be good.

Hello everyone - if you have been tracking Andy you will notice his course has changed. Andy made the decision last week to stop for repairs. Right now his auto pilot is not working , his sat phone that he originally had isn't working and he is on the back up phone which is constantly giving off warning signals so he isn't sure how long that will last and he hasn't had an internet connection since Tasmania and finally  his self steering needs repairing. He has been repairing the self steering consistently since it had issues around the bottom of Western Australia but doesn't have the parts he needs so thankfully Phil George is sending them to St Lucia where he will stop. 

Whilst he was initially devastated with the decision because this will disqualify him from the world record attempt, he  cannot attempt Cape Horn without a weather report, auto pilot or self steering. 

This will mean that he will alter his course and come home through the Panama Canal after his stop off at St Lucia and across the pacific. 

Thank you for following him it means alot to him and he looks forward to catching up when he gets home I am sure he has some stories to tell xxx
​Deb

​It is great to see Andy has picked up speed and is staying near 35.0S. This is the best latitude to stay at as he heads westwards as there will be the greatest assistance from the Agulhas Current in coming days. In the short term there is the opposing current just south of him through to 28.0E then he will be past the opposing current region.
Overview: The low of interest is expected to move to 35.5S 25.0E by 18UTC today. This should move through early Sunday bringing a sudden westerly change – soft at first but then rapidly building. There should be increasing showers with the potential for a squally thunderstorm or two moving in from the NW so watch that direction.

Course recommendation next 24 hours: Staying close to 35.0S is the best option.

Saturday 11 Feb morning: Winds NE 18/23kt tending 20/25kt after sunrise. Winds firming to 23/28kt by midday.
Saturday 11 Feb afternoon/evening: Winds NE 23/28kt easing NNE 15/20kt during the evening ahead of the approaching low and change. Winds should tend northerly towards midnight. Showers and a thunderstorm or two could move in from the NW with squalls possible ahead of the thunderstorms.
Sunday 12 Feb morning: Winds north then NNW 10/15kt shifting west 08/13kt before sunrise. Then the main WSW to SW change firming to 18/23kt near sunrise building to SW 20/25kt mid-morning.
Sunday 12 Feb afternoon/evening: SW winds 18/23kt tending southerly 18/23kt early afternoon then tending SSE 15/20kt during the evening.
Monday 13 Feb morning: Winds SE 13/18kt tending ESE 10/15kt by sunrise then easterly 10/15kt by midday.
Monday 13 Feb afternoon/evening: Winds east 10/15kt shifting SSE 05/10kt mid-afternoon then tend southerly 13/18kt in the evening.
Strengthening SE winds look likely from Cape Agulhas westwards Tuesday and early Wednesday but nothing too extreme.