47:47.1 N, 005:47.2 W

 

The sun came out and the seas became slightly longer and less choppy as we crossed the English channel. But our first discovery of the voyage was just how early it gets dark. Of course we both knew this but it's a bit unfamiliar for it to be pitchy by 5:30 pm when sailing. However there was no cloud and and so the stars and the Milky Way were really bright overhead. We elected to go to inshore of the Ile d'Ouessant shipping lanes so as to meet all the large shipping going SW and NE round Ushant in one intense 'block' rather than spread out over the whole night.

 

We got supper on the go hoping that the moon would have risen by the time we encountered any dense shipping. The second revelation was that while normally we eat in the cockpit before splitting into our watches for the night this was a bit harder in a pitch dark. But nonetheless Fiona's meatballs and chilli were consumed without too many spills. This was followed by our own version of Halloween. Despite having AIS now (and it Is wonderful to know what speeds and directions the ships are moving in), we first had to cross the SW bound lane. Here the ships are supposed to give way to us, so one ends up in a giant game of chicken, holding course and hoping the tanker will move slightly to accommodate us (they did).

 

The NW bound lane however had them coming from our right and so we had to give way. It’s a bit like crossing a motorway because they all move much faster than we do and giving way to one immediately puts another on a collision course. The ships were one continuous stream from right to left and it was with relief we found ourselves across and at the waypoint to the south of the TSS and clear of all the ships. The rest of the night watch was uneventful apart from lots of dolphins leaping through the phosphorescence and the rise of a blood red moon. Eventually this moon turned silver and lit the big swells while Venus rose bright enough to show it's own silver trail in the water (and allowed James to get a pre-dawn sextant sight of the Moon crossed with Venus). The wind remained gentle all night so we motor-sailed slowly, changing onto the course towards Spain at 2am.

 

Dawn brought a little pink and brown bird who fluttered down exhausted to the deck. Usually such little birds are so exhausted that they won’t eat and soon die, but so far (it’s now mid-afternoon) he’s eaten some mueseli and some grated Parmesan and found a moth in the cabin which he polished off with relish as well. He’s now poking into all corners of the cabin looking for more insects.

 

Today is sunny and quite warm, and  by mid morning the wind filled in and it’s now with 10 –12 knots (F4) on our beam so perfect sailing conditions, albeit there is still about 2.5 – 3 metres of swell from the NW. We are expecting rougher seas as we go off the continental shelf later this afternoon. La Coruna is looking likely as the first stopping point at the moment as we have had Navtex of dangerous waves on the way to Madeira and wish to check out the weather forecast before going further.