After three days in Swansea it seemed like time to get going again. The forecast had come in on Monday night for North-westerly Force 3 and although this was directly against the direction we wanted to go, at least it was wind!

So after recovering from the excesses of the night before (spent in my old student local), we were on our way at 10:00. After locking out of the marina into the river and the river into the sea we motored out to the end of the shipping channel. With sails up and full with a force 2 from the northwest we were soon speeding down the Gower coastline at six knots with 1.5 knots of tide.

The only other boat on the water was a 40-foot Benitueu from the local sailing school, which had left the dock 10 minutes before us. With little else to do I decided we should race it up wind - an hour later I think they though it a bit strange when a 25-foot yacht, sailed right over the top of them!

The plan for the day was to make for either Tenby or Saunderfoot but with a strong northerly wind forecast for overnight, Saunderfoot had the upper hand with its south facing harbour. At this rate we would be at our destination by mid-afternoon but that would be wishful thinking, as at some point (about 14:00) the tide would turn against us. Having said that, with the backdrop of the Gower peninsular and a fair wind this was the best stretch of sailing to date. 

It should be noted at this point that disaster stuck at about midday. Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot last very long without listening to music and it was at this moment that the battery to my stereo ran out! I carry spare batteries for everything on board but not it would seem for the radio.

The sun was shinning and I knew that this was all too good to be true. As I approach the cardinal mark at the end of the Gower the wind started to die and time seamed to start going backwards. For at least an hour I could have sworn we were no more than 100m from the buoy but still it did not pass by (it had in fact started off two miles away). With the tide about to change I reluctantly started the engine in order not to loss ground and pointed Silverwind straight for Saunderfoot, eighteen miles to the Northwest.

After an hour the wind filled in again, finally to the force 3 forecast (from the Northeast) and we could now make five knots under sail. It was a nice two-hour sail to finish the day and we were in Saunderfoot for 8pm.

I had booked ahead for a space and it was luckily I did. There were already six yachts crammed against the two spaces on the key and the only space left was a private mooring in the centre of the harbour. Saunderfoot is very much like a mini Penzance with a single entrance in the Southeast Corner and for-and-aft moorings taking up all the space. The only difference is that although they only have 20% the space of Penzance they fit nearly as many boats, not the best place to be in a storm I would think - I could have jumped to the boats next to us.

After inflating the dinghy I went ashore to be welcomed by the Harbourmaster and made my way to the sailing club where, the commodore had earlier invited me. After a refreshing shower, I went off to explore Saunderfoot. It would seem that the town is very much dominated by tourists, which played in my favour when I found a corner shop selling batteries (for the radio) at 10pm.

It should be understood that when Ellen Macarthur wrote about sailing around Britain she mentioned fish and chips on many occasions. So to follow this tradition I finished the successful day off with a fish supper.