13.12.08-1700.
Valle Gran Rey anchorage. We lifted the hook at 5pm and left under engine with the local wind howling directly on the nose.
13.12.08-1800.
I spent 30 mins removing and cleaning the ships log, as we had no boat speed or distance data. Just after completing the log Lindsey noticed water in the heads floor – another burst pipe! Another 30 mins later saw the pipe fixed with me dripping with sweat and on the edge of being sea sick in the swelly seas. Bad vibes about this trip… Hanse , if you read this change your supplier of spiral reinforced water hose, they are not safe or suitable!
13.12.08-2100.
The forcast winds of 25kn turned into a gale warning with winds to 40kn and building seas 3-4m. We flew a scrap of jib and run with the winds not quite making the rhumb line. Luckily we had some remaining Chilli Con Carne still in the pressure cooker for dinner.
14.12.08-0000. N27 40.800 W17 26.100
Winds dropped to 25kn NE and I gybed to avoid a liner coming out of El Hierro. Almost clear of the Canaries Islands.
15.12.08-0000 N26 14.990 W18 25.330
We ate fresh Dorada filleted and cooked by Lindsey with onion and garlic potatoes. Our first fish, caught around 6pm on a towed lure Lindsey had named Bertie. Unfortunately, Bertie gave himself so that we may eat well. RIP Bertie. Current lures in the collection are: Bertie (RIP), Barny, Ernie, Fanny and Freddie. I took the liberty of ‘pimpin my lure - Fredie’ which is now about 6 inches long with a spinner body and squiddy skirt!
16.12.08-0000 N25 12.300 W19 25.720
The last 24 hours has been a battle to stay close to the rhumb line and keep the boat comfortable in the never ending (often confused) 3-5m swell. Winds have varied from 7kn to 30kn. Sail combinations are basically Jib only at night and prevented main (1-3 reefs) during daylight. Progress is slower than we hoped for mainly due to the poor sea state. Weather at night is cold and damp with rain squalls and sunny but not very hot during the day, not the kind of sail I had in mind when setting off.
About 500nm to go…
Feel free to keep us company by sending SMS messages to 881631667012 via the Iridium website at: http://messaging.iridium.com/
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