Hola from the Punta del Este boat,

Darkness was falling, and I think the whale was sleeping or just chilling because it wasn't moving to either side. 20 metres from our bow so I had to make a decision, right or left? It was difficult to see where the head or the tail was. We chose left and so did the whale, big mistake! Within seconds it was in our beam charging at us. These are big mammals and I was feeling the pressure, putting all my helming skills and a bit of prayer to avoid it. Suddenly, a massive head came out of the water, had a look at us, probably thought: "What on earth?" and very quickly dove under the boat. That was our nature close encounter of the day; we could even smell its breath.

Sailing is going well, we are going fast but so is everyone else. The dulce de leche and mate, gifted to the boat in New York by the Yacht Club Punta del Este, are out, and energy levels are high!

Please visit our UNICEF fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jeronimo-santos-gonzalez?fbclid=IwAR36uan3mharpTbxUu6fAgD7LU78LR_FbzJmUBxqus-L8mjaMu1RnPyzyPc and give us a little help over here so we can help the kids around the world, ‘specially the ones that are suffering the most.

Until next time,

Jeronimo (Punta del Este Skipper)

Daily Stats:

Tune of the day: Runaways, twocolors

Daily Run: 276 nm

Max boat speed today: 15 knots

Sea life spotted: A whale (and Punta del Este had a close sighting!)

Sailing manoeuvres to mention (sail changes, tacks and gybes): Nice and easy, with no manoeuvres. Kite is up and not coming down

Meal of the day: Pancakes with excessive dulce de leche (creamy caramel sauce)

Crew of the day: Anne, Susan, Andrew, Dave and anyone else who contributed to fix a tear in our Code 3.