Today, I’m safely moored up on the coast of northern Spain and can sit out the storm with a glass of Rioja.

However, I am in the the horns of a  dilemma due to a failure during the storms last week.  

I have an Aries self steering wind vane which is attached to the back of the boat and I am delighted with its performance. However,  if motoring or in low wind speeds it is not effective, plus it steers to wind which means the boat will change direction as the wind changes direction. When out in the ocean this is not a problem but when in-shore (I expect to be in-shoe for the next 2 or 3 hundred miles) if I’m asleep and there is a shift in wind direction I could find myself directed into land without realising it. The alternative is to helm myself which gets tiring over 12 hours.

In these circumstances the auto helm (the other picture) is useful as it steers to compass so will follow the heading the boat is set.

 Unfortunately, during the storm last week water got into the auto helm and it's now unserviceable. However, my on shore support team (thats my wife and brother in law) have purchased another but to send it to me may take until Wednesday next week. 

I can cope without it, the beauty of having it is I can get some sleep if sailing in low winds, but it will delay my departure maybe 4 or 5 days waiting for it to arrive.