Logbook Entry

Dates: 07/17/08 – 07/21/08
Distance: 11 NM
Sailed from: Sotogrande, Spain
Lat: 36°25N
Long: 05°09W

We departed Sotogrande on Thursday and motored in light wind to Estepona. We were both glad to be underway again and to see several dolphins and an ocean sunfish along the way. We were anxious to leave Sotogrande which had no facilities for the practical matters of life: grocery shopping and laundry. After a week in the filthy yard and another few days at the dock, the laundry basket was overflowing and the food stores were getting low. Amidst the touristy development of bars and restaurants in Estepona, we found a convenient laundry just outside the gate at the end our dock and a small, but well-stocked supermarket across the street.

On Saturday, 19 July, we flew our Tibetan prayer flags in honor of the auspicious day in their calendar and in celebration of resuming our voyage.  We do this practice, despite the confused comments we occasionally receive from other yachties who are not familiar with it. Mountain climbers in the Himalayas know all about prayer flags, but yachtsman are not familiar with them.  They know a different system: signal flags. Prayer flags are similar in a way because the flags have prayers printed on them. When the wind blows the flag, the prayers are sent. So if anyone asks, we try to explain. Our Swedish neighbors thought that it was interesting, but we also get the occasional comment similar to the British live-aboard a few slips down who remarked, “Those Tibetans aren’t known for their yachtsmanship.”