Wisdom says go wide of the Bay of Biscay but my weather files are showing a huge area of no wind to the West of me which forms the centre of a large and very vicious looking low heading this way.

I had to reach the Western point of Portugal to be in position for it and I've done that. (The wind in a Low pressure storm goes anti clockwise) I've managed to stay just to the East of it so that I get the wind on my tail when it hits later today. I'm presently being hit by small storms at the rate of one every hour.

Yesterday evening I discovered that my Active Echo also picks up lightning. It was going off constantly all night. Is it a ship or is it lightning? I could see that I was surrounded by numerous thunder storms. Then I got the first one. It went from 10 knots to 40 knots in a matter of seconds which plastered the boat over for a few minutes till I regained control.

I have never seen rain with so much force, it seemed to be so strong that it cancelled the wind partially and flattened the water momentarily.

I experienced the first squall at dusk so I could see it, the rest were in the depths of night. One after another, over and over, with small interludes of no wind to make sure that I was bobbing around in the wrong direction when the next one hit.

The air smells like fire crackers from all the lightning. Just as I was pondering if a carbon mast conducted electricity a bolt hit close by and that was when I moved the flares and emergency grab bag closer to the hatch and mentally went over my escape route. I added a chocolate bar to the grab bag thinking that I would at least have a good time if the boat was sunk from a hit and I had to bob around in the life raft.

It's morning now and with very large choppy waves. I can still see little storm clouds all over and I'm about to get another. The big storm should hit late this afternoon and with any luck it will propel me wide across the mouth of the Bay of Biscay. Jingle Bells.

All the best,
Jonathan