Hi All
I'm back having made it safely to Denia on the east coast of Spain.
We finally arrived on Saturday night, with a few things that broke on the way, but were easily fixed.
We left the Bristol channel in sunshine, that rapidly turned to thick fog, that stayed with us until we were passed the scilly Isles, only clearing for a quick view of Lundy, where a helicopter rescue was taking place for a diver which had come up a bit quick and had an attack of the bends, the crew had to get him to the top of the island clear of the fog so the helicopter could land.
Past the Scilly Isles, still in fog, and grateful for the Radar, as we had the three traffic separation zones to cross, and straight into a beam reach all the way to Finistere, with just a few storm clouds which gusted up to 30kts, but we were going well with a staysail and 2 reefs in the main.
we arrived Finistere at dusk, and turned southwards, close hauled at first, and it was a bit lumpy to begin with. The the potuguese trades cut in with 28kts on our back, so dropped all but the yankee, and headed downwind, being followed by 4 to 6 metre swells. The Self Steering gear from Hydrovane whose tag line is "Survive your dream" did a superb job of keeping us on course, and made sure that we did not broach.
The constant rolling was getting tedious so we dived into Nazare in Portugal for a rest. Typical, wind still doing 28kts, and we had to berth side on to it, with all the workers in the fishing port watching us. It never goes well with an audience, but we managed to look reasonably professional.
Next morning more downwind sailing, lots of Atlantic swell, 4 to 6 metres, and making for Cape st Vincent. The last time I was there, I hid in an anchorage in Sagres until the wind died, while an Ocean 60 racing yacht called Hugo Boss, headed away from Land, and had its Carbon Fibre mainsail destroyed, so I was a little nervous. (Hugo Boss was later scuttled in the Southern Ocean when the keel fell off). We rounded the cape in clear sunshine, the Atlantic Swell stopped, and we were back on a beam reach.
Into Portamao for a much needed beer, and off the next moring heading for the straits of Gibraltar. No wind, then lots of wind, bang on the nose. we could not make Gib in daylight so dived into Barbate which is just behind Cape Trafalgar where the famous Naval battle took place. The Spanish would have won that battle if there were the number of lobster pots and tunny nets there are in the area today.
Set off at first seagull fart for another battering, with wind on the nose, past Tariffa, the windiest place in Europe in a force 6, still on the nose. Passed the rock, and the wind died.
We motored the 200 miles or so to Almerimar in the company of Pilot whales, Bottle nosed dolfins and the occaisional turtle and sunfish. On arrival, it seems that there has been a bit of issue regarding fuel in Spain, but there was enough to fill out tanks, and we continued motoring in flat calm all the way to about 15 miles from Denia, when it blew up 25kts, so close hauled into Denia.
I sit here in Denia writing this looking at the castle on the hill, and the mountain, in warm sunny weather, it all seems a bit of a distant memory.
So now it is back to work to earn some money.
Yours
Joe Roper
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