Whale Day Thursday

We call it whale day as we saw 3 whales in a day! One within 40 meters who stayed on the surface and we clearly saw it swimming and its back before it dived. The other two were blow holes in the distance. These are such magnificent creatures which must be preserved( luckily we have not seen Orcas!). 

This was a non sailing day really as there was no wind to speak of and it was very calm, although there was a fine drizzle for a large part of the day. The engine had to earn its keep as it pushed us deeper into the Bay of Biscay which usually has a fearsome reputation. We stayed on our course to A Coruna and the large number of ships and liners which passed us politely tip toed around us as if showing respect. 

The day passed quickly as we chatted, contemplated life, eat and drank well and slept between shifts. The day ended with a delicious supper eat from our dog bowls. We had made progress but hoped the wind would return soon.

Night shifts are quite therapeutic as whilst the rest sleep you are in charge of keeping the boat going and avoiding collisions etc. The cockpit is a safe haven with its warm glow of the instruments, and enjoyed with a warm drink and a chocolate brownie. The chart plotters tells of ships approaching from about 20m and at about 3-5 miles you can then see their lights in the gloom. By the end of the shift you long to return to bed from which others wearily arrive from. The stars make it much more bearable. We are a day closer.