Early at 0130, we anchor in a bay directly east of the major port of La Coruna.  After a glass of wine, we spend the night quietly and motor across to La Coruna at 1100 to check in with the harbor authorities at the Real Club Nautico.  The end of the Atlantic Crossing.

By noon, we have totally lost the wind, so we drop sails, turn on the motor, and start doing three loads of laundry.  It is a bright, sunny, still day which is perfect for drying clothes on the handrails.  As we cross the Galicia Traffic Separation Zone, the major shipping lane between northern Europe and the Mediterranean and points south, we encounter multiple targets on the radar.  At one point, Chris was tracking 15 ships going in all directions.  We spend the afternoon and early evening threading our was through the mass of freighters and fishing boats.

Light winds after midnight teach Emily and Jackie that you cannot chase 10 knot winds with a 50 ton vessel under sail!  You must position the vessel to "sail the wind" and then let the wind caress the  vessel.  As we pass underneath dynamic cumulous cloud patterns, we endure a cycle of 6-12 knot winds, followed by 15 knot winds, followed by 20 knot winds and then down again to the 6-12 knot winds.  A long night for Chris of teaching us how to coddle the wind.  At 0900 we cave and start the engine to motorsail on toward the mainland.  Chris reloads the grease pack for the prop.

During her midnight to 0200 watch, Jackie notices that the barometer falls three points and that the winds increase to 30-35 true.  Chris decides to press on until 0500 when he calls Jackie and Emily to lower the double-reefed main as we are sailing at 9+ knots in 35-40 knot winds and ten foot seas.  Thirty minutes later we are once again secure with a boat speed of 6.5 knots without the main.  Emily partakes of her favorite breakfast meal which Chris calls gruel and she calls oatmeal.  We loose the wind during the daytime.

Our lucky day:  Chris catches two bonitos before lunch ... and then the wind returns!  Off goes the engine and up go the sails in westerly winds beginning at 15 knots at noon at ending at 25 at midnight!  He decides to utilize this gift by gybing southeast/northeast to make La Coruna.   Jackie uses the two pound fish to cook Thai Satay Tuna for lunch, fish salad with garlic relish for the future, and freezes the rest for grilling.  Bouncing along with the wind on our quarter without engine noise!  We settle into a routine of reading as we wait for our next watch.

An uneventful, peaceful (if you discount the motor), day.  Chris looks at the weather forecast and decides to forego sails as we experience a windless Azores High.  Jackie serves a day of left-over items for lunch and dinner as she tries to better utilize the refrigerator.  We wash the fifth load of laundry since leaving Angra in an effort to take control of the expense of laundry ashore.  Chris is challenged to use our new watermaker to keep up with Jackie's efforts.  We settle into the watch schedule as our sleeping patterns adjust.  The cats sleep through it all.

After clearing the customs office at the Angra marina, at 1015 we hoist the anchor.  We sail past what the locals call "split rock", an adequate description which causes you to wonder what type of force is  needed to split an island  We adopt the Lewis watch schedule which puts each member on for a two hour watch between 0000 and 0600 with two additional three hour watches during the day.  Before we round the island, Chris catches a two pound fish which he filets and we eat for lunch. Our next adventure is for Emily to "catch" a lost mooring ball which is floating loose in the sea.  On the third try, she sweeps it aboard!