Lat 37:41.7N

Long 023:20.8W

Time 12:40 GMT

Back at sea again, thanks to a small rip in the genoa we found our selves in the capital of the Azores, Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel. The fact that it was their bigest saints day festival and the football final was pure coincidence.Further inspection of the sails following the rip revealed an inky imprint of a squid about 18ft up the main, testament to the choppy seas experienced. It seems that in Ponta Delgada they make the distinction between hot and cold showers, the latter being for the more hardy brand of sailors. We stuck to the hot variety, that is apart from Clive who, seeing only cold showers, braved the chilly water. The preivous 36 hours had taken its toll on most, and the idea of static sleep and a few hearty meals was greatly welcomed, especially when plenty of local fish was on the menu. Oty finally decided after 18 days at sea that it was time to purchase a waterproof top, a snip at 6.99 Euro. The Atlantic Ocean has well and truly met its match. Stefanos willingness to catch a Barracuda has raised hopes of a fish supper at some point on the journey, and we are fully confident in both his skills as a hunter and the vast array of kit he has stashed in his bag!  The night of the big match was obviously a disappointment to most aside from our friend from the Basque country. Gordon continues to impress with his mental compendium of sports based trivia, who knew that Scotland are the current Elephant Polo World Champions?! Following the Catalan victory, we decided to indulge in the local home improvement/trade fair. I say indulge, it was more that curiosity led us to wonder what could be contained within a large marquee for the ticket price of one Euro. Suffice to say it was nothing of note, sorry to disappoint all of you who were planning a visit to Ponta Delgadas finest event in years. At least we could sleep easy knowing that it wasnt an Irish bar- Gordon had been searching hard for a Gaelic haunt for the game, the GPS co-ordinates of which showed in to be in the middle of the sea.

Spirits are high, with good northerly winds forecast. Undoubtedly the next installment will be lavished with pictures of the Barracuda. We may well have to make do with Tuna. Hard life..