We were down at 1.5kn boat speeds and sails started flapping around a bit. No brainer, engine on and off we move. The sea is pretty flat by now with only some old swell left. The humming noise will get us through the night for a few hours, not sure how long it takes until the wind is back. We got 350 liter of diesel left in our tank, enough to motor to Lanzarote altogether. Obviously this is not our plan and the passage routing done did not result in any engine hours at all. What shall I say? It’s hard to complain still feeling very fortunate to be out here on the ocean.
 
There is some good half moon out, which provides excellent visibility. Three other fellow sailing boats are about 3.5nm on our starboard side heading to Lanzarote as well. I can clearly see their navigation lights, which confirms the good visibility tonight. Unfortunately the moon will set around 2am local time and I expect a pitch dark night from then onward up to sunrise at 8am. My neighbours are a bit more patient and still under sail at 2kn.
 
I spoke to Jan from SY Sutje at 19:00 UTC on channel B3 Marine Radio Band, which is 4Mhz. The connection was not that good to enjoy a long chat but we will give it another try in the morning. Jan and his first mate Reinhard have left Santa Cruz de Tenerife and are heading over to Pasito Blanco on Gran Canaria, where the lady will get hauled out to enjoy some beauty retreat over the coming weeks.
 
By the way, the tuna steak was delicous and I am glad to have conditions where cooking remains a pleasure and not a pain.
 
But now, I will have some fresh Earl Grey.
 
Fair winds…