Motored from Rota to Barbate - the Hotspot for Orcas. Didn’t see any but we were more somber today - especially when we had to go out around a large tuna fishing net into 35m water, where an Orca had been seen yesterday. Two boats were attacked today and the marina here is full of boats on the hard without rudders, and in the entrance to the Harbour you see the tip of the mast of one that sunk as it was towed in last week…. Not only were we at risk of Orca attacks today, but the Spanish military ballistic test site joined in the fun exploding air bursts right above our heads! Tomorrow we are going to Gibraltar so that will be another tense day. After that we can relax a bit and just worry about weather and winds and things breaking on the boat as usual!

Great sailing the 20th, with good winds and waves. We were tacking most of the day and it’s fairly chilly so it felt like sailing in Sweden (a good thing). Except we’re sailing in 10 meters of water which you normally try to avoid! Spending two night here in Roca as the weather was pretty bad yesterday the 21st. Also felt very much like sailing in Sweden to take a day to bake and catch up on chores while the rain is drumming against the topside. Have I told anyone I love sailboats?😉

Early morning today: we got up before 6 am to catch the sunrise that often is spectacular in Culatra. Then we headed out, as it was going to be a long day. The exit into the ocean from the channel we had anchored in was crazy: the current in the channel met waves rolling in, creating a breaker of waves and whirlpools we had to pass through. Intense! But Arkyla is a solid boat and she did great! The rest of the day we had some great sailing and lots fishing pot spotting. Cilla and I also talked quite a bit! 🤣 We passed the border into Spain and have now docked in the marina in Mazogon. Great tapas dinner and then off to bed. Tomorrow we are passing close to the Orca hotspot (we have to go further out to pass some tuna nets)! Hopefully there will be another post after this..! Also: I have turned on my sat phone finally, so now you can see where I am (or at least my phone) by going to the “location” page.

Earlyish start to be able to get into tonight’s Anchorage before tidal current of 7 knots kicked in during ebb. Had a gorgeous six hours of sailing beam reach at good speed along the gorgeous Algarve coast. Just had to keep an eye out for fishing pots (there are many) since we are going close to the coast (20 m depth) to avoid the Orcas. Now anchored by Culatra.

PS photo is of James, taken by James. He let me use one of his photos taken today and I thought you might enjoy a professionally taken photo for a change… See his IG for more

We finally left Lagos end of yesterday and did a short sail to Ferraguda outside of Portimao. First time I’ve sail with a self-tacking jib. I could get used to that. Only worry so far is that there is so little to do on this boat with how well it’s maintained, how it is set up and how James runs it. Cilla and I need to practice sitting still….!

Provisioning done. Final crew member onboard. Crucial, tiny part arrived and being installed in furler. As soon as that is done we’ll finally be on our way! Todays hop is short: just 8 NM East to Portimao. Can’t wait!

So I’m definitely thinking about Orca’s these days…10 days to go until I step onboard Arkyla…Very happy James has a plan B, C and D for the Orcas (not so fond of plan E which involves throwing me overboard as bait).

We are moving Arkyla from her current marina in Lagos, Portugal, to her new home in Valencia. The first part will be the trickiest - navigating Orca alley. James (skipper) has written about the challenges facing us here! Onboard will be me, James and Cilla (who you might remember from my blog in the fall - we met up in Las Palmas).

In mid-May it’s time for my next sailing adventure: crewing on Arkyla for a month. She is a Regina 43 (Swedish!). You can read more about her here and watch her from all angles here.

Want to read about my adventures doing a delivery from Greece to Grenada last year? That blog is here for now.

a USCG Captain! Just found out today that I passed the test (the theory test) - I also passed the security clearance, medical examination and drug test, in case anyone was worried. Yeah! Now I can focus on time with the family and getting ready for my delivery in May!