35:37.253N 006:36.959W

One of the things I love about  boats is the challenges that they throw at you. Its taken a couple of days to feel connected with Jangada but we are now on speaking terms and she is now throwing me little challenges to see if I’m up for it. Yesterday I went to drop the jib single handed and it was stuck … not dropping….. I went up front to give the sail a tug and hum… still stuck. First thought is I need to fix this before Jeremy wakes up or I will look like a plonker. Luckily I spotted it was stuck in the mast cleat so after a bit of a wrestling match Kate v Jangada she finally gave in and woosh the jib was on the deck.

This mornings challenge was in the form of a bolt on the deck. Now finding stray bolts is always a concern… look up at the rig ,, did it fall from the sky? Maybe a stray seagull dropped it… Ok maybe not. Anyway this one I got within 5 mins , it was the bolt from the tiller extension which I could soon fix. Thanks Jangy for that one it was a good challenge and I hope you like the fact  I solved it.

Passage wise we are through the straits of Gibraltar, We both feared 25Kt winds and 4m seas.. but actually it was quite smooth and the biggest problem was lots of shipping going all directions.  I had a slight moment when I thought a little power boat was following us… my brain was off down the track of gun welding drug runners after a documentary I watched but it was fine. Also no sign of any Orcas to nibble the rudders I was playing rock music at top volume to deter them….. enough to put off any hungry sea mammals.

We are now out of sight of land and its just Ocean. It reminds me of the race to the Azores. It is such a privilege to be out here in the Ocean , its not easy to engineer these sorts of passages so you must appreciate each moment….even if sometimes it’s a bit wet and rough.