Another day has gone by and another day of Big Glows and Small Glums.

The crew woke up to a stunning sunrise this morning followed by the mandatory morning swim. It is one of my absolute favourites moments of anchoring, waking up in the morning, jump in, get out, fresh water rinse and sit with a coffee while seeing the sun slowly rise.

After breakfast Andy gave a magnificent weather lesson, it is so nice to see someone teach their passion to other people, it really is contagious!! After that everyone got briefed on their duties for their watches and we proceeded to hoist anchor and get out to the open sea for our offshore phase.

The wind might have been one of the only glums for the day, failing to fill even the slightiest puff but making a stunning sight to watch, we managed to keep busy by taking sun sights, practicing reefing and enjoying a great lasagna cooked by Mia.

It is just a few hours ago, as the sun was setting down the oily windless sea that the breeze started picking up a little bit, we unfurled the jib, turned the engine off and are now under way not making a lot of way, but enjoying the peace and quiet of a very stary night.

I managed to get a sight on Vega and I’m like a kid with a new toy taking sights on this trip. My last sights were back 5 years ago when I was trainning with my mini 6.50 and I never really understood the bigger picture, just followed my proformas and got my plots. Having seen the way Andy teaches it and explains it has really woken a passion inside of me. I never thought I was smart enough to be able to understand Celestial navigation, so I’ve either become really smart in 5 years or it really is down to who you learn from and I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher.

Time to put the kettle on and wake up the other watch, signing off the Portuguese coast.

— Alex