We left Falmouth yesterday after an unanticipated stop. Dominic Clayton, one of the students, took a fall while working on deck. His shoulder hurt quite a bit, so we went into Falmouth to have a doctor look at it. The diagnosis was a badly bruised shoulder and possibly a cracked rib, with a requirement that he keep his arm in a sling for a period of time. Because this would make it very difficult to move around or sleep on a rolling, pitching boat, I made the decision to have Dominic go home from Falmouth. Dwayne Williams accompanied Dominic to see him safely home.

Dominic was disappointed to go, and hopes to rejoin the trip in Portugal. We all hope that he mends quickly.

We're now in French waters, at the northern edge of the Bay of Biscay, or Baie de Gascogne, as the French call it. Good sailing last night with a NE breeze and full moon. The wind dropped out at dawn, and we've been under power since then. Seas are quite calm except for an old swell running in from the West, which tells us there's some weather rummaging around out there in the wide Atlantic.

The Bay of Biscay is an area known for bad weather in the Fall, and we can only wait to see what the Weather Wizard has in store for us. We have a straight-line distance of about 650 nautical miles to Lisbon. At our best speed of about 125 miles per day that's slightly less than 5 days. This is a longer period than extended forecasts cover. Computer-generated weather prognosis looks very reassuring, until one realizes that the same type of forecasting logic is used to foretell the size of the federal deficit.

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