Damian and myself caught a flight from Palma to Stansted. He was being picked up by his father and I made my way down to the bus terminal. After waiting around outside for 20 minutes or so, the lightning storm started and within minutes, pretty much everything was soaked!

---

To add insult to injury, the bus arrived 50 minutes late and then, 35 minutes into the journey the windscreen wipers failed on the bus and we had to pull over and stop on the M11.

Just over an hour later, the taxis arrived and we continued our respective journeys, arriving nearly two hours late... welcome back Russ!! :-)

Once the work on the yacht had finished, I spent the best part of a day having a look around Palma. It really is a beautiful city and well worth a visit. From Jo's flat in La Valetta, I took a 1.10 euro bus into the city and had a good look around:

---

---

...and, after a few hours walking around in the sweltering sun, a few tapas and a couple of beers in the Plaza Major:

Majorca is in sight and we'll be there in around 5 hours time. Unfortunately, our hopes of a nice sail in (or even calm seas and a bit of easy motoring) are quashed when the wind picks up and starts blowing 48 mph! That, to all intents and purposes, is what the Beaufort Scale terms a storm!!
Wind is 30 degrees of the starboard bow, the engine revs are up, the boat is slamming into waves, the spray is being whipped into your face and it stings like being prodded with needles: who cares, gonna have a beer tonight :-)

Apparently, it's very much a localised storm and thirty miles away in Palma, the sun is shining and it's a lovely day - c'est la vie I guess.

Get into Palma and tie up alongside at around 1330 hours.

England open their World Cup dreams today with a game against Paraguay but we won't see it as there's too much to do on the boat: can't say I'm too bothered about it, let's get the boat cleaned and then enjoy a nice meal out!

Having finished on the boat last night, Damian, Fleur and myself are given the day off! We decide to catch the ferry across the bay and have a look around Cadiz!

Some spectacular architecture:

---

So we had a nice look around and then went for a beer and some tapa's. Then, on the walk back we went for some more beers...(well, it is the anniversary of D-Day!!)

Well, after some pretty drab and miserable weather between the Azores and the Straits of Gibraltar and the very poor weather forecasts for the straits we decide to go into Cadiz, firstly, until the weather improves and secondly to refuel: we motored pretty much all the way from Horta - extremely difficult to sail with the wind right on the nose :-)

We moor up in Santa Maria and work on the boat before taking a stroll around the town:

---

---

Well, you have to don't you?

We (Dan and Jo) hired a car and we all decided to have a look around the island. As chief navigator (well, the one who sits in the front - Jo is driving), I expertly navigate us around those parts of the island that we want to see (and some of those places turned out to be a bit of a surprise to us all)!

---

---

After excellent weather (not all good sailing weather - good motoring weather some of it) we arrived at Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores at 2310 hours, just over 11 days since our departure from Antigua. It was certainly not bad going as soem of the other crews we talked to were taking around 15 to 16 days.

Let's just hope that we get good sailing from here to the Med.

We depart from Antigua at around 1300 hours after refuelling in Falmouth Harbour. A couple of man-overboard drills just to shake the cobwebs out and then we're off...not much wind so motoring!!!

The wind does, however, pick up later on and we can get some piece and quiet from the droning of the engine!

As it's the last night, and it being Sunday, we all go up to Shirley Heights for the weekly party/bbq.

---

---

There will be five of us on the boat on the crossing. Just waiting on a friend of Jo's, Fleur, to join us.

She flies in today and after work (as is the way) a few beers are in order...

After a hectic three days relaxation up at Dickenson Bay, I hooked up with Damian and Kirsty and we went down to Nelson's Dockyard, met Dan (skipper) and his wife Jo and moved onto Ciao Bella.

The plan is to get the boat ready over the next few days and hopefully get away from here on Monday...destination Azores, Gibraltar and then Majorca!

Dropped Kirsty off at the airport and then returned the hire car to Falmouth harbour. There was a bit of a scratch on the rear bumper (which I'm sure wasn't there when I took the car out ) but they either missed it or weren't bothered with it and I didn't get charged anything else - happy days!!

Excellent news! Damian has contacted Dan, the skipper on Ciao Bella, a Swan 64' who is after a mate and a crew member to take the boat back to Palma, Majorca!

CV's are despatched and, subject to the owner's and the insurance company's approval, it's all looking good!