News this morning that Vincent Riou has abandoned his yacht mid-atlantic after colliding with a whale has brought the hazards of sailing in the area into sharp focus as we enter the last week before our departure. Vincent was leading the fleet in the Artemis Transat race to Boston when he became the third casualty of the race due to whales.

Over the last few weeks we have been fitting Lady Jenny  with as much electronic wizzardry as we can afford but Iam not sure whale strike alarms are available! Whilst it is certainly encouraging that there are enough whales left on this planet to cause a hazard to shipping I think I will be sleeping with my life jacket firmly tied on during the North atlantic leg of our passage.