South of Gibraltar

We are now officially south of the Gibraltar Strait, we made our passing a
long way west of the entrance and passed only three ships and only one all
day yesterday which is a definite improvement on that many sightings in 30
minutes closer inland.

Yesterday went very well with still slightly stronger winds at 20-25kts, but
with just the genoa (front sail) we were able to crack along at 6-7 knots
and really knock off some miles off. Rough estimate for arrival is Wed 14th
May, but this is obviously dependent on the weather between then and now. We
are hoping for a shift in the wind to the west, as per the forecasts and the
general trade wind route sometime soon to allow us to keep downwind sailing
all the way there. We have passed the half way mark for this passage now,
which is always a good milestone, although we have now logged 826 miles
since we left La Rochelle, so really we are 75% there!

Provisions are holding up well, we had a lovely cheese and tomato omelette
for breakfast with our last fresh tomato this morning. So we will be back to
homemade soups, spaghetti bolognese and pasta etc. Oh, for those who are
interested, the garfish was delicious, cooked with fresh parsley butter and
accompanied
our last remaining salad. Pictures to follow, Kevin has the rods out again
hoping for fresh tuna today so will keep you updated.

Position @ 12:00:
Distance run = 469 miles
Position = 35 36'.632N, 09 43'.073W
Distance to Graciosa, Canaries = 423 miles (will reduce after westerly turn)