37:06.27N 08:40.26W

Well we finally made it, we crossed the finish line at 0830hrs on 20 June to mark the end of about 3,600 miles of sailing back from St Martin in the Caribbean.

The last 24 hours were unnerving to say the least, we received a further update of a sighting of the orcas off Sagres Point which put them smack in the middle of our proposed track. We liaised with a couple of the boats around us and discussed at length our option and formed a joint plan. We would proceed as a group of four yachts, slow our speed considerably, which was difficult as the sea and wind had built so we had to reef well down, minimise sail and finally we obtained the required 5.4 knots to ensure our arrival off the coast of Portugal at 0400hrs so that we could negotiate orca alley in daylight.

We agreed we would take the shipping lanes off the corner of Portugal South and  then cut across behind the orcas into Lagos. I also considered avoiding Lagos altogether and making for Alcaidesa in Spain but I had agreed to carry some gear for the ARC so was really committed to Lagos.

AS daylight came we edged forwards from the shipping lanes giving Sagres a wide berth keeping a watch out for anything unusual in the water, We were startled by some dolphins who swam along with us for a while as there was a moment when we asked Dolphins or Orcas? We were comforted by the fact that Orcas eat Dolphins so the presence of Dolphins suggested no orcas nearby.

We finally made it to the 20m depth contour line, a depth at which orca encounters are considered unlikely and we marvelled at the beautiful scenery along the Portuguese coats here absolutely stunning.

I was some three hours motor sailing along the coast until we made it into the canal at Lagos and were relieved to tie up in our berth to start the usual clean up operation. By the end of the afternoon we were ship shape and ready to o again.

Happy our to say our goodbyes to the ARC team and participants and then into town for a meal before collapsing in bed for a well earned sleep.

We planned departure for 0500 hrs the following day.