Having left our quiet River Fal pontoon yesterday morning, we headed down to the Falmouth Yacht Haven, topped up with fuel and water then tied up alongside 'The Lady B'. Who should emerge from the cockpit but our old friend Dickie Clubb who we met in 2008 whilst sailing across the Atlantic - what an amazing coincidence!! Following victualling of the boat and replacing a final few ropes on the boat, we cracked open a few bottles of Rioja and recounted a few maritime tales and war stories in the warmth of the Quasar IV saloon. Dinner comprised of a few minutes walk to the local pizza restaurant, far better than cooking and washing up on board! A 5am start this morning was not particularly welcome following our later than planned bedtime last night. I had to change the gearbox oil first of all so that we were set to go - it arrived late last night from a local supplier so no time yesterday. Finally, at 6-30am, I managed to get the boat out of the Haven in a fairly strong breeze after what felt like a 50-point turn and we are now truely on our way to Spain at last. An overcast sky cleared later in the morning and we had some excellent sailing conditions for the first 8 hours, averaging over 7 knots, one of the best runs Quasar IV has ever achieved. Sadly now the wind has completely dropped and the 'iron sail' is busy propelling us in the right direction. We are about 30 Nm from French waters now and we have some current against us, so about 7 hours before we reach that point. I'm off now to cook dinner - Irish stew, canned potatoes and carrots, an easy one for a rough sea which I can most gladly state that we are not in this evening!