Wow.  What a last day.  Winds played ball today and we charged along.  The crew became somewhat competitive about top speeds reached and Haley claimed 12.2 knots (SOG) but that was surfing down a wave and we did nearly end up broaching.  Bob had a very happy time at the helm and was so engrossed that he forgot to put on his sun cream and is now very red in the face.  No wildlife today except for a passenger ship, a tanker and one yacht (toiling in the opposite direction and looking very out of puff).  Bob claims to have seen a flying fish but I think that it was a hallucination from too much sun.  We averaged 7 knots over 12 hours which was thrilling.

The wind dropped in the lea of Gran Canaria and we motored along a coast that has changed beyond recognition since the last time that I saw it, except for the cement works that still sits there looking like a romantic fort in the distance until you get up close, but please bear in mind that it is nearly 40 years ago that I was last here.  Puerto Rico, where Daddy kept his boat and where we all holidayed as a family all those years ago, has crept up the mountainside, spilled over the sides and is an extraordinary mess of apartments , mile after mile of them clinging on for dear life to the rock face, with the same postage stamp sized beach that used to service a straightforward stack of 4 streets. 

Finally we arrived at our final destination, Puerto Mogan, at 1930 hours.  We made an exceedingly expert berthing.  We are delighted to say that we eventually received our voucher for our booking last night, talk about eleventh hour.

Puerto Mogan is a well designed, modern, purpose built resort with six million restaurants to choose from.  We celebrated our arrival with a round of cervezas or two and a slap up meal.

We can’t believe that we are here.  All that planning and the heaps of stuff taking over the dining room for weeks on end but we have made it.  1800 miles, 130 engine hours and 16 water maker hours after we left Lymington.  Tomorrow will be devoted to scrubbing the old girl from top to bottom (being very gentle with the wounded side) and then homeward bound.

What a trip.  Wow indeed.