Distance covered in the past 24 hours 145 NM, distance to Cabo Sao Vincent 674 NM.
Wow! We have had an exciting and varied time in the past day. Most exciting (and scary) was an encounter yesterday afternoon with a pod of Orca whales. About six Orca emerged from the sea, coming within just a few feet of our boat. We were initially petrified as Orcas around the Iberian Peninsula have interacted with or attacked many sailing boats causing damage to rudders and even sinking a few. Fortunately it transpired that this pod of whales were just curious. They swam around and dived under the boat for a couple of minutes before disappearing northwards. In retrospect, although scary at the time, it was a great privilege to see this magnificent creatures so close. I managed to grab my video camera just too late to capture the moment, although I did get a shot of myself showing my reaction!
The other notable event of the day was the unexpected return of a favourable wind. We had expected to be motoring for three to four consecutive days. However, the wind has picked up from the north to northeast and, in the latter half of the afternoon and all through the night, we enjoyed a good sail. The wind shift has now put us on a port tack which has made for some challenging sleeping arrangements as we have had to move to sleep on the other side of the boat.