During the last 800nm passage to reach Cabo Verde it became apparent that Simon and Noelia were well and truly up the curve in managing the boat. Noelia steered the yacht on her own for a three hour night watch with the spinnaker up. It was also very evident to me that living in close quarters with a 2 yo was not something I enjoyed. Simon and Noelia raised the question of how long I intended to remain onboard and this prompted me to look at some options. As it turned out after I had helped a yacht sort out an electrical problem, they asked if I was interested in sailing with them as engineer to the Carribean. Simon and Noelia indicated that they would be OK on their own. Actually Simon has previously sailed across the Atlantic solo, so the next big challenge is to do it with a 2yo.

I sail tomorrow on a new 50 ft X Yacht bound for St Barts in the Caribbean. Simon plans to continue this blog with updates on their progress to the Panama canal after which I will take over and bring First Light III back to Australia.

Over and out Bernie