Sunday, 27 April 2014 – At 7:10 a.m. we turned on our engine and prepared to get underway. The dock lines were dropped at 7:30 a.m. and we backed out of our slip. The morning was quiet as we headed out of the marina area to the tricky entrance but fortunately there was only a slight swell.  As we headed out to sea, I head Jeff and Debbie on the VHF who were arriving from points south. We had a radio chat for about 20 minutes. The weather was calm, so we motored on.  

During the morning the wind increased and we managed some fine sailing at up to 8 knots for about 5-6 hours.

During the crossing we did see some Rays leaping out of the water and a large pod of Dolphins kept us company for almost an hour with six or seven swimming a few feet from the bow. At times they leaped out of the water so close to the boat that from the cockpit, it almost looked like they could land on the deck. By 2:30 p.m. we had covered 49 Nautical miles and the wind had begun to blow on the nose of course! As a sailing friend once said, the wind is on the nose 90% of the time.

At 9:00 p.m. we started our formal watch-keeping with Anita first, then me and finally George who likes to watch the sunrise. By 10:30 p.m. we had covered 81 Nautical Miles and the waves had become choppy with the wind still on the nose and Hilbre squiring around because of the swell.