36:57.435 N  001:17.785 E

21/07/10

18:00

Wind Sill SW Force 4.   We’ve passed the shipping lanes that go up the coast of Spain and to France etc but there are still plenty of Merchant Ships coming our way.

We are 3 miles North of the West bound lane so it’s not really too bad at the moment.

Still warm, sunny and idyllic.

22/07/10

03:15

The wind died around 1:30 AM. Demetri and Steve dropped the spinnaker.  It came back enough to sail for a while but when I came on watch at three AM it had died again. 4 knots doesn’t do much for this boat, so reluctantly I fired up the engine.

The idea that the traffic would ease was misplaced.  There are 48 ships within 24 miles of us.

Before leaving Gibraltar I popped into the one bookstore to look for a Tunisia guide book.  I was amazed to discover that the shop assistant wasn’t sure where Tunisia was, although she had heard of Morocco. Some of the Gibraltarians are really insular.

10:30

The wind is currently South Force 1....so were still motoring. Still plenty of merchant shipping and we’re just a bit North of the main shipping lanes.  Ziltch wind and the sky is one big heat haze.  The outlook is not very promising, we could be motoring for days....the only consolation is that is a few days there will be strong

Easterlies where we are now and we should miss the head winds completely.  Of course this is the Med so anything can happen.  It’s normally no wind or too much wind.

12:00

Still chugging along.  Yesterday’s run was 163 miles, with 8 ¾  hours under engine. Today it will be more.

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