How far can a dragonfly fly ?

We are now over 24 hours into the last leg of our adventure, running before a good north-easterly blow and making a steady 7 knots or so towards the Canaries.

Readers of the blog will recall we lost two good friends in Portugal (to their families, not overboard), and their absence has had quite an impact on the watch system. 3 hours sleep really equates to 2 hours 40 minutes by the time you have woken up, dressed, and put your lifejacket on the right way round in the dark. Not only do we miss their friendship, but we really miss the extra sleep !

On a brighter note I can report that portion size at meal times is now significantly larger, so it’s not all bad.

Sticking with brighter notes, our dash south is bringing a corresponding increase in temperature, so much so that we are now in shorts and T-shirts even at 10.00 in the morning.  I for one was beginning to doubt the 50/50 packing allocation between “hot” and “cold”, but it now looks as though the clothes lurking at the bottom of the bag will get a fair airing too.

On the weather front, the good news is that the wind is due to increase as we head further south. Rob’s current record of 13.1 knots may be under threat if the winds develop as promised, and after all the boat is now almost a quarter of a tonne lighter so we have no excuse.

As for dragonflies, I’m no David Attenborough, however we are approximately 130 miles off the coast of North West Africa, and one of the not-so-little fellas gave me the mother of all frights at 2.00am this morning whilst checking for shipping at the chart table.   They obviously like the glow from the laptop.

That’s all for now, so love to family, friends, and absent crew members.

Jeremy (Nicole’s), and the crew of Great Escape.