Went to add waypoint on chart plotter yesterday and the front of the button fell off. It was attached by flexible rubber so no chance of repairing. Plotter still usable but have to poke finger inside and I presume not waterproof anymore. Initial searches revealed the plotter is obsolete and spares no longer produced. I am of course not happy with Raymarine. Can you unfriend someone you are not friends with on Facebook? However have managed to track down the last...

Decided to practice man overboard yesterday. Since there are only two of us aboard this means single handed only. We had full sails up in 17 knots of wind which made for a challenging exercise. Pressing the man overboard button on the chart plotter is definitely important since it is impossible to do all the tasks and watch the person. A well executed recovery takes 15 minutes. The boat ends up with ropes everywhere and there is a risk to the remaining crew mem...

Change of crew day. Jim left this morning after he had been up the mast. Dave arrived this afternoon. Day spent washing laundry and food shopping. All set for the next few days. Weather continues to be warm and sunny and cool in the evenings. Last night Jim and had dinner in small local bar/restaurant. Bottle of wine and Paella €15! It is. Certainly cheap here.

There's always another job to do. We had a busy and successful day today. Firstly we washed the mainsail which was very dirty with Saharan dust. Next was the steering system and bearings which involved emptying the stern lockers and climbing in to them. Finally it was repairing the sparkler on the cooker. Decided to go out for dinner. A whole bottle of wine and Paella for two people came to the princely sum of €15 euros! A quarter of the price in Copenhagen...

There's always a bigger boat! As we were leaving Cartegena we heard three loud toots and the new super yacht slowly reversed off its berth. Obviously wanted to catch a glimpse of Javelin leaving! She is called A. Apparently the owner Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko after months of rigorous testing is doing final sea trials. The size of 1.5 football pitches with carbon fibre masts that rotate she cost a mere £360 million. 54 crew on board for up to 20 g...