Position           33:03.21N 078:24.11W

Date                2359 Monday 23 April 2012

Passage planning dictated a midday departure.  The Mate took the complementary marina shopping bus to an out of town mall to top up the provisions and I was able to have everything ready to depart on her return.  Inevitably it was just short of 1400 when with the assistance of some of the crew from Discoverer of Hornet we let go our lines and set out on the ebb tide to clear the breakwaters an hour later.  It was as well to leave on the ebb as with the wind blowing up our stern and the ebb running at up to 3 knots we had a smooth ride, 20 knots blowing against the flood would not have been funny.

We will see if the timing works but there is a favourable weather window providing north west winds until Wednesday by which time the plan is to be passed Cape Hatteras and that before the forecast gales arrive on Thursday.  Watch this space.

Anyway, a good start was made and by midnight we had covered 81 miles at an average speed of 8 knots in a quartering sea.

For those unenlightened souls today is St George’s Day; think Henry V and Agincourt.