It was with a tearful farewell from Carolyn that we slipped lines for the last time and left our berth in Barcelona. With Carolyn waving us goodbye and Bon voyage we motored out of Port Vell and onto Port Olympic for fuel.We motored from Port Olympic for a couple our hours and then the wind picked up sufficiently for that start of a glorious sail. The watch system worked well and after lunch we settled into our routine. 3 hours on and 6 off. My first watch was between 1800 and 2100 and at 2000 we served up the Spaghetti Bolognese that I had prepared earlier that morning.

After my initial watch I retired for a reasonable rest and some sleep. Being woken up at 0250 by Paul for my next watch which began at 0300.

The sky was cloud covered and so no starts or moon. However, the phosphorescence of the wake of Arctura was amazing. It was like seeing a little Universe in the sea below me at the stern of Arctura. A wonderful light show, sometime exploding in bright galactic bursts.

Not much traffic except for one cruiser and one oceanographical data buoy, which we left on our starboard side.