Atlantic Crossing July 2020 Part Two (Horta To The Med).
Sunday 12 July 2020 (day 1). After fueling and clearing out (read “me paying the marina fees”), we set sail from Horta at 11:00. The wind is good at 12-23 kn from 175-210°, so although we have the wind almost aft, the boat speed is fine at 7-8 kn. The weather forecast is again problematic as we have to sail NNE for a day before we can head for the Strait of Gibraltar to avoid too much wind on the nose. In a couple of days we should meet rather strong north wind of up to 36 kn (BF 8 Gale), but if the forecast is correct we will have that wind at an angle of 90° on the Port side, so we should be OK and have a fast sail. We do need a good speed to avoid the very strong winds coming down the west coast of Portugal in a week’s time. This wind seems to be particular strong this year. Unfortunately the current forecast shows east wind at Gibraltar and further east of the Strait, so we might have to look for an anchorage and wait for the wind to change. I understood before leaving Horta that