29th and 30th July

29^th  22.00

Strong tail wind.

We have been blown down the west coast of Spain and Portugal by 20 to 30 knot breeze. Cruising at 10 knots is a reality.

We had more dolphins playing around the boat at different times today. At about noon a tall ship came out of Porto and has been in sight all afternoon, unfortunately steaming and not under sail. At the moment there is a large cruise ship off our starboard beam.

One of the tests today was dodging fishing pots. We are 10 to 15 miles off shore but the water is only 200 metres deep and there are hundreds of fishing pots. In the fairly rough seas we are experiencing these are pretty tough to pick out. Their threat to us is if we ride over one we stand a good chance of getting the line stuck in the propeller. This would be very difficult to cut loose as diving in this cold bumpy sea with the strong wind would be really tough.

We have now tested and used all the systems. Water maker, washer/dryer and dish washer. All work well.

We have our night roster all worked out for tonight. Bisher is on watch now. I am going on at 4.00am so am now going to turn in.

30^th July 9.00 pm

We are now less than 200 miles to Gibraltar. By midnight tomorrow we hope to be in the med.

Today was fairly uneventful. Nothing special to report. Ah yes tonight we tested the oven and the microwave. Both work. Don't worry we have been eating but only using the hob top until today.