The final miles of this phase went according to plan. And in bright sunshine too, with a warm SSW3 allowing us to lay the course from Brunsbuttel to Cuxhaven. Aquila reveled in the salt water breeze as we progressed down the Elbe, paralleling the shipping.  By lunchtime we had fuelled and found a suitable berth. By teatime we'd done a major store ship, defrosted the freezer, cleaned the heads - and the skipper had even washed and dried two loads of dhobi.  Marvellous.

Tonight a final run ashore for Peter, Rosalie and Mike: tomorrow they catch a train to Hamburg for their flights home. Aquila and the skipper will be very sorry to see them go: we've had some terrific sails, laughs and tales. And whenever anything aboard needed doing, it always just happened, be it: sail changes, wetting the tea, doing the washing up, preparing for alongside, shopping.  In addition, we've all eaten royally - the chaps produced some scrumptious meals, but Rosalie regularly blew us away with some Master Chef creations. Double double marvellous!

Tomorrow evening the next crew of Simon, Lawrence and Tim arrive. So we'll be all set for the final phase of this summer's exped.