Typical!

Yesterday, fully fuelled, watered and provisioned, the Captain and I made our final preparations for passage making: washing the grime of nearly a month in Africa off the sun covers, the mosquito nets and the decks, stowing everything away and, pouring over our charts and pilot guides, planning our passage. Finally, and with much regret, we decide against the Bijagos. We are sailing back to England now, inshallah, which means 3000 nautical miles of mostly upwind work. A detour downwind is the last thing we need. Everything is ready to go, the chart table is clear, the fridge is full of pre-made meals, our oilskins are stiffly awaiting action on their hooks, even our brains have at long last snapped into passage mode. But - guess what? When we woke up this morning we were buffeted by a wind that is decidedly stronger than forecast and from precisely the wrong direction! Another day of waiting I suppose...