With clouds lurking overhead and the threat of rain imminent we pondered on whether or not we should leave the anchorage or spend another night here. The forecast predicted winds coming from the SW between 12 and 18 knots, a force 4-5 which would enable us to sail for several hours before easing overnight. Wind-wise it sounded perfect, ideal conditions to take us towards our next port of call, Rota in Spain. An opportunity not to be missed despite the clouds overhead so it was up with the anchor and a short motor down the channel back to sea.

As the breakwater at the entrance to Culatra approached we suddenly heard a 'thud', felt a judder and with it the starboard engine tone changed. Had we hit something, caught something around the propeller or worse still could it be cutlass bearing failure? We couldn't afford to think about it for the time being because we had to focus on leaving the entrance with its strong currents and avoid all the small fishing craft that were anchored or drifting across the entrance. At this stage all we could do was throttle right back on the starboard engine and increase the port engine accordingly to take the load and maintain headway.

Having safely cleared the entrance and with our sails and course set we settled down for the trip. The wind remained a constant force 4-5 with occasional gusts to force 6. Reefing the mainsail and genoa was necessary for our comfort. Then just to keep us on our toes a constant force 6 arrived which stayed with us for most of the afternoon. We were stonking along (as Bruce puts it) sailing between 6-7 1/2 knots!

A pod of dolphins joined us for a while, riding the waves (rather larger than expected!!) alongside Flirtie before diving underneath and repeating their antics several times over.

As nightfall approached the wind dropped back to force 4-5 and remained with us until the early hours of the following morning. Stars shone brightly in the night sky and a half-moon presented itself casting silvery shadows around us. By the time the bay of Cadiz approached we had much calmer seas and a gentle force 3.

The entrance at Rota is pretty narrow but very well lit so didn't present us with any issues but admittedly the moon helped by casting shadows on the huge breakwater boulders. At 0315 we arrived at the reception pontoon (UK time).

We can't believe it, we have just sailed 80 miles ... yes "Sailed", not "Motored" or "Motor Sailed"!! Fantastic. ;-)

Total distance this season: 123.4 nautical miles