Latest position 29.56N 14.06W

 

Last night was really Grace’s kind of weather – absolutely no wind at all and the Atlantic Ocean almost glassy with just a gentle rolling swell.  The ‘Three Men on a Boat’ were bored to sobs and there was a bit of panicking about whether or not we would have enough fuel to make it to Las Palmas.  We motored all through the night to maintain a speed of five knots as we hope to make it to Gran Canaria in time to watch the start of the ARC which we think is at noon tomorrow (Sun).  We did two hour watches on our own which meant that we all had plenty of sleep, and on Graham’s watch at 7am we had 12k from the SE turned the engine off and were happily making 7k, by 9.30 we had 15knots with a flat sea – Stephen has written in the log ‘this is what we came for’!  The boys were made happier still by scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast and catching a second small tuna!

Unfortunately at this point we discovered that the locking nut had dropped out of the gooseneck on the boom (must have been all that slapping around downwind the day before).  We couldn’t find a replacement so have managed to push it back in and taped it up dropping the boom in the process.  We are now comfortably doing 7/8 knots in 15 knots of breeze with just the genoa.  Looking forward to having showers in Las Palmas although reading John Foot’s log of their Atlantic crossing in 1975 he writes ‘It is without question the dirtiest, oiliest harbour which any of us had ever visited’!  Let’s hope it has improved since then!