We're at 1532S/15237E in the middle of the Coral Sea, heading for Cairns. Our course will take us round Sand Cay, the northernmost of the reefs, and we'll pass it about 12 miles away (oh, the wonders of GPS navigation and up-to-date charts), before heading down at 249° for Grafton Passage, one of the well-recognised gaps in the reef, and then on into Cairns.

We've had a strong-wind passage almost all of the way, and will have made a fast crossing: much of the time the wind has been 20-25 knots on the port beam. We've had some really big seas, with the odd wave breaking high above us. But generally, as the great rollers approach Hygeia's stern, she gracefully and somewhat disdainfully lifts her bottom, and lets the monster roll harmlessly underneath, though I have to concede she rolls a bit.

Last night was one of those nights we'll never forget - a clear sky with a fantastically bright moon, lighting up everything as though it were day-light, except that the light is bright silver. It picks out the white of the great rolling waves, giving them a magical quality.

The only jarring note to all this is that we've seen two large commercial vessels, both heading towards us, so we have evidence of approaching civilisation, and have to keep a careful watch, both from on deck, and on the radar.

We had some temporary anxiety with Mie a few days ago. Out of the blue she developed excruciating loin and left iliac fossa pain with no obvious explanation, and my thoughts turned to the possibility of medical evacuation; but of course out here in the ocean there's no possibility of outside intervention, and you're very much on your own. In the event I reckoned the differential diagnosis lay between atypical ureteric colic, and some sort of severe acute back problem, and after a conversation with Iain Paterson using the Iridium phone, we both felt the latter was the more likely. I had no opiates on board, which was what she needed,so Jofric and Mia on Mazy came to our help as they had some pethidine with them. It was extremely rough, and the transfer of the medicine proved quite difficult: we trailed a fender on a long line, which they retrieved with a hook, and attached the drugs to the fender, and thus we were able to retrieve it. It turned out the pethidine was in suppository form, and the boat was rolling so much I suspect the most tricky part of the whole medication delivery was the last 4 cms!! Anyway, the diagnosis proved correct, and with good pain relief, and some rest(??) things have improved.

Our ETA at Cairns is sometime on Monday, so we look forward to a non-moving floor, and some sleep. But we've had a great passage.

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