After some vacillation, we took the decision to cop a bit of bad weather up front to make an easy turn around the corner at Finesterre, and here we are day three finally with a weather forecast that was right!

We left Les Sables at 3:00pm Sunday and headed out into predicted seas of 4-5m and a good beam reach. And it all came true. We reached speeds of up 8knots and the boat was handling it beautifully - however the crew wasn´t. But this time I wasn´t the first out the back - I was in fact the last (except for Mark who faired well)and the longest, being crook up until Tuesday morning! We got cold, we got rain, we got hail and we got 5m waves but there was no stopping us.

We have only a couple of minor problems with the boat, some leaks (above the water line when it rains), a few lights on the new engines we don´t understand and of course the long running problem with the Raymarine chart plotters flashing despite efforts to correct this in Les Sables.

We are now all feeling pretty good, having our first real meal last night cooked by Priscilla - honied chicken and steamed vegies with special treatment for the vegetarian with home make vegie patties! We are not yet up to the culinary feats of the ARC participants but Mark is up in the Galley tonight and he has already practiced with eggs all round.

We are now into day three of the first leg of the Transatlantic with seven or so to go to arrive at Las Palmas and then 20 more to get to Barbados and the warm weather we are all so badly missing!

More in a couple of days or when something happens

Cheers from the Atlantic!