Wed 21st July - in Lagos cleaning, fixing things and packing for trip to
Les Carroz. Had another tough day yesterday. Left Vilamoura 1030 at HW to
catch the ebb all the way west to Lagos; wind 12 to 15 knots NW - a close
reach - perfect conditions for ALMA and we made great progress - at least
to begin with! Had a great "race" with another 2 boats heading same way
and was first to the first headland. Into the next bay we had a big wind
shift and then we ran into a big "hole" in the wind - when the competition
saw this they managed to sail around us! We slowly got back into the
breeze and then the wind built and built until we had a reef in the main
and half a dozen rolls in the jib in 22 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30
knots - not quite the leisurely sail we'd hoped for on the final day of
this leg of the odyssey. Thankfully ALMA performs well in these conditions
and although it was hard work we had no problems - at least thought not
until this morning on unfurling the jib discovered we had a small tear!
Grrr!

Maintenance work and cleaning today (just on my coffee break at the moment
- seems I'm allowed a short break since I started at 0700 this morning!).

Michelle is joining us on our return from Les Carroz and sailing to Gibraltar, stopping off en route to see the Spanish Horses in Cadiz. Really looking forward to sailing with her.

Off to Les Carroz tomorrow for a month - Rest and Relaxation!!

Will have better wifi in LC so hope to speak to you on skype soon.
Best wishes
Iain and Helen