16:53.2N 024:54.5W

We finally left La Gomera, happy to leave the ferries and cruise ships behind.  When the wind drops and turns to the south the marina catches all the diesel fumes and showers of soot.


Marina La Gomera.  The hillock rising from the murk behind is El Tiede on Tenerife

For the first few days we had moderate easterly winds, enough to sail despite the lumpy cross seas that are a feature of this part of the Atlantic.  The wind then strengthened, speeding us up but also bringing patches of brown Sahara dust.  We were using the genoa but also experimented using the staysail and main.  Having her mast well aft (and so a large genoa relative to the main) she sails well under genoa or gennaker alone though at times we wish we could rig a pole to improve our downwind performance. 

We arrived in Mindelo after after covering 840 miles in 6 days and tied up to a marina berth with the help of their marinero.

Rachel was very relieved as she had felt sick all the way.  A trip to the local clinic and tests showed that she had Salmonella!  A course of antibiotics and plenty of rest was prescribed...