Kate's turn for the blog today, and I'm scratching my head to remember what we have been doing. We seem to have adapted to Spanish time rather quickly, so yesterday was a very late start, followed by a gentle amble to the daily market for seafood, and then a goodbye to David, who was heading back to Scotland laden with chorizo. Thank you David - it was great to have your time, great experience and fine company these last few days. Supper last night - once the boat chores were done - was langoustines cooked on board, with garlic mayo and crusty bread, washed down with a little pink Rioja. Strangely, my morning tea didn't arrive till 10am.
Today has been filled with more boat chores. The autopilot, which gave up the ghost just half an hour out of Cork, is now on its way back to MEI in Southampton. Then this morning we discovered a freshwater leak, and had to trace its source - which was the hot water system. We now know far more about the calorifier than we ever thought we would need to, but it's fixed now. A couple of lines were showing signs of chafe, so those were dealt with, and there has been optimising to do for Mr Windy P's set-up. And on the domestic front, there has been yoghurt, water and ice to make, laundry to deal with, bilges to clean... and of course planning to do, as we decide when to leave and where to go. Our original plan - 35 miles round the corner to a lovely-looking anchorage - are a bit stymied by the weather which makes the passage look fast but the anchorage look pretty unpleasant. So, we shall probably stay put for a couple of days longer. What a shame. Late this afternoon there was a flurry of activity in the harbour, with a stream of boats arriving, including several Brits. One was another Ovni 395 - a sister ship - with, would you believe, a Tayvallich man on board. A very sociable time on the pontoon.