The forecast wind did not fill in on Monday evening and we spent a very uncomfortable night motoring south in a sloppy roly sea. We made a short transit stop in Cascais for fuel & to fix a few jobs on the to do list: new bulb in the steaming light, exhaust alarm failure & strip the autopilot. We think the autopilot needs a new clutch & we have managed to track down a part in Gibraltar to collect on Friday. 

The wind finally arrived on Tuesday morning and we had a great sail south. The wind rose steadily and we had a wild sleigh ride approaching Cape ST Vincent in the early hours - thank goodness the mainsail furler didn’t jam for once when we stowed it! We continued with a  small genoa and staysail at 0400. Early this morning we rounded Cape St Vincent into the shelter of the Gulf of Cadiz and the wind died. We are now motoring the 180 miles east towards Gibraltar, enjoying much quieter conditions allowing the crew to catch up on much needed sleep. 

I’m still struggling with the email settings in my Satellite phone, so this post will have to wait until we are in touch with a 4G signal.

Simon