Here we are in Dartmouth after the first leg of our trip south.  Left Lymington yesterday at 4.20am and had a reasonable morning’s sailing and motoring, but a miserable afternoon as the wind and rain came on and we had to sail straight into it.  Lindsay was seasick, Stuart a bit queasy (although he loved the rough conditions!), and all of us pretty weary by the time we reached Dartmouth at 6pm.  Of course the sun came out just after we arrived – sod’s law – but at least that meant we could start to dry out all the wet gear.  Oh and we had two leaky portholes so water below on 2 ledges too, so a local guy is here to fix them for us.  The joys of  owning a boat – maintenance expenses already!!

Not sure if we are leaving for Gijon this afternoon or tomorrow morning at this stage.  Force 6 was still forecast for today but longer range it is looking pretty good (fingers crossed).  Hugh can’t join us in the end so it is just the three of us.  Met another Lymington couple on the quay here last night who are sailing back there after a 9 year round-the-world voyage, including around the Cape of  Good Hope, so makes our plans look fairly tame in comparison!

Next entry will be from Spain we hope.