No.. not exactly.  I have managed to construct a fishing line and attach a lure to the end of it.  The saga of the missing fishing reel continues but I did have 100m of loosely coiled gut.  I took out the saw and with a piece of plywood (bought with the intent of making a spare wind vane blade) fashioned a bobbin, of sorts.  I released the wire ties from the coil of gut and began winding it onto my bobbin.  I was thinking that this would only take a few minutes but two hours later I was still struggling to untangle the birds nest. Unlike the Chinese Olympic stadium mine was a lot smaller and of a much more complex architecture.  A French man, the owner of âPelicanâ showed me how to make a cheap lure using a plastic bag, weight, hook and line. He then kindly gave me the example one that he prepared.  I also asked him how much line to leave out, he said one or two waves behind in fine, âtheyâdonât know what boats are etc.  I told him about fishing in Mountshannon, where the fish recognise the car registrations and know what not to eat that day.

 

Last night was the most  beautiful night I have ever spent at sea.  I waited as the full moon rose to approximately 15deg altitude and began taking a few shots of upper and lower limb with the sextant.  It was so bright that I was able to leave the cabin lights on and still have perfect visibility.  At 0555 âFalia Joyâ the second ship that I have seen en-route, passed 2.5Nm behind me.

 

The wind has eased now and with it my speed has dropped about 1.5kts.  I am still making steady progress and have only 570Nm to go.  About the same distance as my first trip from Valentia to La Coruna.  Back then it was an epic adventure but now it seems like a stones throw away.  The TTG(time to go) feature on the GPS is beginning to kick in.  It only counts from 99 hours and now, as I surge down a wave it gives estimates such as 83.33hr before returning to the static >99hr.  Anyhow thereâs no rush, Darragh is working during the week and off at weekends so next Friday evening would suit nicely.