Having spent two hours tackling a fishing net in the dark with knives and head torches in hand, we were tired before we even began our approach to the Gibraltar Straits. Anna and I ghosted in past the African headland only to find ourselves in a 5 knot opposing current with just 3 knots of wind. For three hours I did a remarkable job of sailing us backwards and then after many tacks we could see our progress in the cold light of day. It was depressing, but there was something that bought a glimmer of hope to us. Neutrogena had suffered more than us and we could see them facing the same issues as we were. Spurred on with a new intensity we were also aware that we had to check the extent of damage from our fishing net debacle. Daylight allowed us to use the endoscope to see the bottom of the boat, keel, prop and rudders. A tail of fishing net was streaming behind us and we knew the saga was going to continue. Attaching a line to the streaming net and taking it forward to in front of the keel got us so far and we removed some more netting. Another check allowed us to see there was still some net, rope and floats attached around the keel. There was no doubt about it we were going to have to swim at some point!

A few hours of floating, then making some ground, then losing some ground to Neutrogena ended up with us becalmed just before Tarifa. Anna and I had discussed the safety lines to be used for having one of us in the water and which way was best to heel the boat to remove the mess below. Before I could even think about when would be a suitable time to take action, Anna appeared James Bond style dressed in a wetsuit, safety harness on with a line attached, a knife in one hand and a mask in the other. "Come on," she said as we made a line secure from one side of the boat to the other lying just in front of the keel, "I don't want to think about it too much!" With that she handed me the safety line and jumped over the side.

Three dives to the keel later, the rope, net and floats were cut and removed. Anna was an absolute star. She got back onboard and we both smiled relieved and also chuffed that we had overcome our first major hurdle. Now we are back to facing the float off with Neutrogena in sight.

The Gaes Girls