Day 1 at Sea

We left Hout Bay at approx 9.30 on 3Dec. Conditions were way more
boisterous than we had expected - wind 20-30kt, sea very confused,
lumpy and big. We eventually were down to 3 reefs and a storm jib
after clocking over 11kts. To me it looked more like the southern
ocean than the CT/Brazil "milk run"! We clocked up 157 nmiles in 24
hours and are going along well again today with a bit of genoa, storm
jib and 3 reefs in the main. We are both very tired, conditions too
rough to sleep properly but I'm sure that nature will eventually take
its course. We are thrilled with the yacht - it might sound corny but
she is a "sheer joy" to sail - we're having to slow her down in these
conditions. Roll on the trade winds! Thank you all for your
encouragement, support and good wishes. It means a lot to us.