After 3 weeks on board the crew mutinied and flew home from Gibraltar for 10 days rest leaving the skipper to do all the jobs on board. He fixed the barometer, re-plumbed some water-maker pipes and re-tensioned the rigging but then broke the gangway in a storm surge while the crew were away. This left him marooned either on or off the boat for 3 hours either side of high water when it got too difficult to get on or off the boat. It also meant a longer list of jobs still to do by the time the crew returned. Undaunted he got his own back on the crew’s return and sent them to do the provisioning for the next 4 weeks.

Keeping fruit and veg for long periods at sea demanded a solution. Thanks to Barrie for finding the solution back in the UK

One of the facts about crossing the Atlantic is that eventually you have to leave the relative safety of the Mediterranean and head out into potentially big seas. After watching numerous weather reports for days Paul announced a weather window of favourable winds for the 6 days from Gibraltar to the Madeira archipelago. Just time for a hasty crew departure photo.

We said goodbye to the marina right underneath the rock.

The exit to the marina is right next to the airport runway and you can only leave when planes are not due to land or take off.

All the calculations paid off and with favourable winds and tides we were soon charging through the Straits at over 8 knots.

We quickly left Gibraltar territory and passed back into Spanish waters

The Straits carry a lot of traffic and after a few hours we saw a gap and crossed the traffic separation zone and moved over to the Moroccan side. Night fell but we were still running down wind and had escaped the Straits before the tricky tides turned against us.

We made good progress. We left sea area Cadiz  and entered sea area Sao Vincente .Day 2 saw a few spots of rain. Hadn’t seen any of that stuff for weeks.  It’s not the Med said Margery !

It was cold at night and we had to wear fleeces and oilies. It’s not the Med said Margery !

The short steep seas were soon replaced with proper long ocean swell. You can guess what Margery said.

On day 3 a couple of dolphins paid us a visit along with a few terns. We entered sea area Casablanca. The weather reports were still on our side.

Day 4 and we tried fishing with spectacular success.

Actually this was a flying fish which landed on the deck. We hope to get lots of those (but much larger) as we approach the Caribbean.

We got used to eating on the move. Not flying fish !

Day 4 also saw us move into sea area Madeira. Time to hoist the Portuguese flag.

 Another milestone was reached as we passed 2,000 miles since leaving Corfu.

Pat surprised us all with a treat. Bless you sweetheart – you are a treasure.

We also passed the Seine seamount on day 4. It’s an underwater mountain that rises from the bottom at 4,000 metres to a depth of only 86 metres from the surface. Of course you can’t see it but it makes for some very confused seas in that area.

Day 5 – 500 miles out into the Atlantic and the ocean swell was long and high.

By afternoon the crew were getting excited at the prospect of landfall next morning. Pat started dancing on the deck. No mean feat in the rolling swell. Pat said she could smell land. Barrie claimed he could smell beer. Margery knew she could smell Paul.

During the night the wind died , the swell subsided and by the time we made landfall the sea was flat calm and the surface was like a mirror.

The island of Porto Santo has quite dramatic scenery.

The lighthouse had been a welcoming beacon during the few hours before dawn.

We were soon happily tied up in Porto Santo after 620 Atlantic Ocean miles which took 143 hours non stop – just under 6 days.