49:39.47N 005:00.58W

Started out at 10.30am in glorious sunshine and virtually no wind at all.

Opted to motor for a while to get clear of Plymouth and pick up some decent wind, but 7 hours later we still only had 2 knots of breeze!

Some of the boats came across a pod of basking sharks which they photographed, but all we managed was a solitary dolphin.

6.30 pm and we had our first real drama. We were motoring along on at 7 knots when suddenly the engine choked as we picked up something very substantial around our prop.

We cut the engine and debated our next move. There was less than 2 knots of wind still and the sea was glassy calm, so Sarah (who does not do swimming in anything less than 30°C ) decided to go and take a look!

We trailed a line behind us, tied to a fender, we also tied a diving knife to another line and then Sarah went off the back to discover a whole raft of fishing net wrapped firmly around the prop. She then dived a number of times to cut all this free and finally cleared the mess completely.

Celebrated with a hot shower and a cup of hot chocolate. (Don’t want to spoil her.)

It was at this point that Queen Mary 2 chose to alter course as we sitting directly in her path, 12 miles distant still, but at 26 knots the distance closes very quickly. Engine started and we were back on our way.