Land's End

2 August 2018

We have made quite some progress. But the wind that kept us busy the first night, is still keeping us busy. The forecasts are different every time. Most of the crossing from France to the UK we sailed close-hauled. When we arrived at Land’s End the wind changed a bit, so we could bare away.
Then it became a battle between us, the swell and the light winds. If we steered right at our goal, there was not enough pressure in the rigging and it was not comfortable on the swell. We decided to steer a bit higher to get more pressure on the rigging and a different position on the waves. Finally, the wind settled a bit and we were in a more sheltered area behind Ireland, so the swell was much less. Finally, a bit of rest, so we thought! 
The forecast predicted another challenge: a lot of wind. Yesterday we were running with the wind with the fore course when the wind increased. We went very fast, but it was a bit too much, so we took the fore course away and set the fore stay-sail. With the ‘party-rig’ of mainsail, stay-sail and top-sail we were speeding away. During the night the wind decreased and we set some more sails. We have a lovely day of sailing ahead of us, but it is also time to stretch our legs. The plan is to make stop at the Isle of Man tonight for a quiet night. 
Nature wise we don’t have any complaints by the way. Several times per day we see dolphins or porpoises. And birds like auks, gannets, kittiwakes and herring gulls visit us regularly.