It’s been a year since we signed the Bill of Sale which transferred ownership of Seascape from Jim, who had owned it from new in 2002, to us. We’re still moored up in Cardiff - but with the beautiful weather we’ve been having, and the endless sunrises and sunsets visible from the city, it’s sometimes hard to believe that we’re not already in the Mediterranean.   We had intended to have set off on our adventure by now but the birth of our second granddaughter    (c/o youngest son) and a couple of house moves (us and our eldest son) meant we needed to put the date back by a couple of months.   The countdown is now on, with our departure from the UK planned for mid September - weather permitting. The first few legs will be quite long, involving night passages, so we really need the winds to be in our favour. Long range weather forecasts are being studied carefully.  What attracted us to Seascape was that she was in excellent condition, had been regularly maintained...

While Dave has been doing practical jobs on Seascape down in Cardiff, making sure it’s ready for our rapidly approaching departure, I’ve been busying myself with the admin planning - and there’s quite a lot of it.   Formalities, entry and exit procedures, paperwork (for the boat and for us) and legal requirements vary between each country. Whilst researching the countries and waters on our route I’ve come across lots of information about pods of Iberian Orcas ‘attacking’ yachts off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. A small sub-population, numbering about 15 orcas, seem to be causing havoc and raising anxiety levels amongst sailors in that area. Reports of them ramming yachts and biting rudders have increased over the past five years.   Conflicting advice on what to do if you encounter an orca probably isn’t helping quell the anxiety. The list is endless -  sail in shallower waters v sailing in deeper waters engine on and power away v engine off and ‘play dead’ autopilot/...