12 august

We are still in L’Aber Wrac – Brittany. Tonight will be our sixth night tied up here. The wind has been terrific and mainly from the west/ south west. Apart from being very blowy, it has been blowing in the wrong direction for us to leave and be confident of a smooth passage. Anyway it has been rather nice here. We wake early (Olive makes sure of this – usually with one of her little wormy fingers shoved up our noses or a hiiiyaaah karate chop in our sternum – that usually does the job). Nonetheless early waking does not mean early dressing – least not for me. I’ve much enjoyed lounging around the cabin in my pjs whilst Alfi wrestles with anything she can get her hands and Olive empties every locker, bag, receptacle of any description on to the the floor. Yesterday we walked to the supermarket – 4km journey, up a hill whilst pushing Olive in the pram and carrying Alfi in the papousse. We stopped for a little beer in a cafe bar tabac style joint and smiled at each other feeling free and happy whilst Olive dipped her fist into Daddy’s beer and mopped up the damage with half a loaf of bread. Then we made the return journey to the port with the same load plus an additional two large shopping bags full of cans and tins and bread. None of this felt like hard work.

But we must leave soon. As soon as the weather gods gift us with the right combination of wind, sun and luck. The next leg takes us across the Bay of Biscay – it will take 3-4 days. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous. Everyone I meet seems to have a story to tell about Biscay. It is also fair to say that such stories do involve crossing in Dec or Nov or anytime other than now so I must accept Ben’s assurances that we are crossing at the best possible time and that we are not leaving anything to chance beyond the base fact that we are ultimately in the hands of the universe.

The forecast looks good for us leaving tomorrow or Thursday – that would mean being in Portugal by the end of the weekend – hooray! We are both desperate to get to Portugal. To sunnier climes and those damned delicious custard tarts. Its been a bit chilly since we left the UK – the few warm clothes I packed and stowed away in an inaccessible part of the boat assuming we would not actually need them, have been worn far too much! We want sun. We want warmth. I think the last time we had this was Dartmouth. Bit ridiculous really.

Anyway enough for now. I need my energy to brace myself for the next passage…deep breath in.