We wake up in completely different conditions. The sun is out, and it makes everything look a lot friendlier. We use the occasion to put out our clothes to dry for a couple of hours.

Around 1130 we leave Otranto harbour in a southerly direction, but not after a Carabinieri officer (that looks like a general in his shiny uniform) has put a number of stamps in the non-EU passports on board… There is little wind, so we motor south in the direction of Capo Santa Maria de Leuca, the south-eastern tip of Italy. The coast is green and hilly, with a small village every now and then.

We reach the cape at around 1500. My team takes first watch. The wind is north-westerly, around 12 knots, the sea is calm, and we hoist the mainsail and roll out the genua. We sail in south-westerly direction, course 222. Shipping traffic is busy here, a large number of cargo ships and fishermen.

After our watch, there is pasta and Bolognese sauce… We do a further watch from 2100 – 2300 as our ship slowly but steadily crosses the Ionian Sea.