Sailing is without a doubt a leisure activity. Even those who work at boats do so for the pleasure of being with boats. There is nothing better than getting down to a boat early on a weekend day and heading out to a fresh breeze for a few hours. Let the wind take you where it will and then head back to the mooring relaxed and ready for a pint to end a perfect day.

Yesterday, being Saturday, our sail was nothing of the sort! Yes there was wind but a nasty head-wind that would not let us go where we needed to. It colluded with a rogue current to push us sideways at an alarming rate. Tacking back and forth we could go east and west but not north and made no headway for hour after frustrating hour. Nerves shattered from the sheer angst of doing all we could with no reward. Early evening whilst using the motor to also charge the batteries we were able to break the strangle-hold on us. Today, however the wind held steady in the north east and we have made excellent progress on our northerly heading. A silver lining of a day and reassuring us that sailing is indeed a pleasure.

Some while back I commented on the lack of the moon. Well for the last few nights we have had the most stunning full moon imaginable. Bright so that one does not need any other light to look after the boat as it wends it's way forward, the water glistening in a myriad of reflections bubbling on the sea and in the boats wake. A sight so pretty that one is not able to capture it in any way except in the memory bank. Gliding along with the twinkles and "plop/whoosh" an unmistakable sound. Dolphins around the boat! The sound is amazing, gentle yet purposeful as these lovely animals play in the water. They break the surface and at the same time take a breath of air and in one continuous movement are speeding along just below the surface. Last night it was even more spectacular as the beads of phosphorescence rolled along their bodies turning them into sparkling rockets shooting through the water.

The tenacity of nature to cling to every thread of life is truly wondrous. We have been at sea for six weeks now and in spite of the speed at which the boat is going there are goose-barnacles growing on the trailing edges of the hulls. How they attach themselves and the also grow is unbelievable but there they are, some already three centimeters long. Shortly before sunset I saw a dark shape in the water a little ahead, thinking it might be some piece of flotsam or debris I kept a close watch lest we should collide with it. But no it was a turtle, slowly paddling its way through the ocean. No GPS or other paraphernalia, just nature and instinct.

So much for tonight, see you all next time.

Cheers, Tom