Thursday 29th
June
Isaac had arrived on Sunday evening and given the need to
provision the boat and undertake a couple of final jobs – rigging a fourth
reefing pennant being the main one, the earliest we would have been ready to
depart was Tuesday. However, there was a high-pressure system north west of the
island moving slowly east and the winds were therefore forecast to by
variable/light northerlies and if we left on Tuesday we would most probably end
up being stuck in calms for a protracted period. I therefore decided to
postpone our departure until Wednesday but as it turned out we weren’t ready
until late afternoon and still had our fresh produce to buy. With high pressure
still dominant, the invitation to dine on board Bengt was therefore the
deciding factor in postponing our departure a further day!
A check of the weather on Thursday morning confirmed that
the high-pressure system was still tracking slowly eastwards and that we would
therefore have to head north for perhaps the first two days to get around it
and pick up the westerly winds to the north of it. The problem this presented
though was the amount of motoring and therefore fuel that would be required. Up
to now I had carried enough fuel for about 30 hours of motoring vat around 3.5
– 4 knots. We really had to keep half of that in reserve for making port on
arrival and for charging the batteries when there was insufficient sun for the
solar panels to charge them. Limited suitable stowage space is the reason we
carry only 15 litres of reserve fuel but with a bit of re-organisation I
reckoned we could fit in another 20 litres and so I had bought a 20-litre jerry
can at Praia and therefore we now carried 35 litres in addition to the main
tank. That should enable us to motor for 24 hours and still have enough fuel
for a further 24 hours motoring without draining the tank. This was still
probably not enough to get us through the high-pressure area but it would
significantly reduce the amount of time we were forced to wait for the high
pressure to pass us by.
After shopping for our fresh fruit and vegetables in the
morning we said our goodbyes to Wim and Elizabeth who are going to over winter
in Praia da Vitoria before heading south next summer for Patagonia, we cast off
our mooring lines at 1400 and headed out of the marina. Once in the outer
harbour we stowed our lines and fenders, hoisted the mainsail and headed out to
sea. For the first few hours we tried to make use of the light northerly breeze
and motor-sailed north west around the coast of the island at around 4k. At
around 1700 I decided we were getting such little assistance from the wind that
we may as well dispense with the sails and motor due north directly into the
little wind remaining.
As the sun began to set Isaac spotted a whale blowing about
a mile off to port. It looked like puffs of smoke. Unfortunately, it was too
far off for us to see anything other than the blow. It was a large blow though
and therefore quite probably a Blue Whale which are relatively common in the
Azores.
I cooked our first dinner at sea; meatballs in a chilli
tomato sauce with boiled potatoes. Unfortunately, Isaac was feeling the effects
of the boat’s motion and had to retreat rapidly to the cockpit to throw up. After
that however he was able to eat his dinner and stand the first watch as we
continued to motor slowly northwards in search of the westerly winds north of
the high pressure.
Friday 30th
June
I came on Watch at 0230. Isaac had misunderstood my
intentions with respect to the Watch system – I had said we would run 4 hour
watches starting at 2130 and he should therefore call me at 0130. Because I had
emerged at 0100 for a spell and then gone back to my bunk he thought I intended
that he stand the next 4 hours too! He therefore didn’t call me at 0130 and I
slept through until 0230 before checking the time. The poor chap therefore
stood a five-hour watch on his first ocean passage!
Once in the cockpit I noticed that whilst the wind was still
very light it had veered to the NE and we therefore able to motor-sail once
more on a northerly heading at around 4 knots with a slightly reduced engine
speed and therefore hopefully use slightly less fuel. By 0530 however the wind
had died completely and we were motoring through a glassy sea in reduced
visibility.
We changed the Watch at 0630 – Isaac volunteered – and I got
my head down for another couple of hours. At 0900 I got up and we re-filled the
stern gland greaser and the diesel tank. We had used a about 22 Litres in the
preceding 19 hours. At a push we could therefore motor for another 14 hours
which would use up the rest of the reserve diesel stock and leave us with a
full tank – about 55 litres – not that we could use all of that before
encountering problems with the fuel supply. Say another 30 hours in practice.
We’ll need that for emergency battery charging and getting into port.
Our noon position was 120
miles north of Terceira.
Well we continued motoring until 2130 when a very light
breeze from the NE developed and we set the genoa and sailed VERY slowly
northwards or thereabouts. That had been the longest continuous period of
motoring I had undertaken on Arctic Smoke and I was both relieved to be able to
turn the engine off and that the trusty little Buhk had continued to run for so
long – 30.5 hours - without missing a beat. With the Buhk now having a well-earned
rest, we sailed more or less northwards at the giddy speed of 2-3 knots. Apart
from the lack of wind the day had been very pleasant with warm sunshine
throughout. It remained T-Shirt weather right up until sunset at around 2145.
Isaac cooked dinner – a tasty meat Chilli sauce served with
boiled potatoes and red cabbage. Earlier we had finished off the excellent
pineapple I had bought in the Supermarket in Horta and one of the delicious
peaches from the market in Praia da Vitoria.
Shortly after sunset and at the beginning of his Watch,
Isaac heard a whale blowing and we were just about able to make out a large
dark shape breaching the surface of the water a few hundred metres of our
starboard beam. The rather spooky encounter was to distant and brief to
identify the type of whale or even its direction of travel. Earlier we had seen
Dolphins a couple of hundred metres off. They showed no interest in us and we
probably engaged in the more serious business of looking for their dinner.
Saturday 1st
July
I came on watch at 0130 at which point the feeble breeze
decided to become even more so and as I write this we are ghosting along at
between 1-2 knots with our course over the ground (COG) between North and 30áµ’.
I’m puzzled and a bit concerned by the North-East wind. I had hoped we would
have picked up the westerly winds that should be blowing to the north of the high-pressure
area. Light North Easterly winds suggest that despite our 30 hours of northward
progress under power, we are on the eastern rather than the northern edge of
the high pressure and may therefore not pick up the westerlies for some
considerable time to come. We cannot afford to use any more fuel to look for
wind and will therefore just have to sit it out. I’m hoping to rendezvous with
my son Stephen on the 12th of July in the Scillies or Falmouth but
unless we get out of this high pressure soon that will not happen. He has
managed to get a few days off his busy job as a junior hospital Doctor and we
were hoping to get a few days sailing together. I had also expected to have
received a weather update/advice message from Chris Marchant (a previous owner
of Arctic Smoke) via the Yellow brick but nothing has arrived. I’m beginning to
think that he has changed his email address I have registered on the
Yellowbrick system since he last sent me a message. I have therefore sent a
message to Mick asking him for an update. However, even he is unlikely to be
awake at 0300 and so I will have to wait for further weather information.
By 0400 the light wind had veered towards south pushing us
Eastwards on the beam reach set on Angus and I therefore set the genoa on the
pole to starboard and set Angus to sail us on a very broad reach on the
starboard tack. With the wind now over the starboard quarter we have a COG of
0-25áµ’
and are making 1-5 to 2 knots. The wind shift is hopefully indicative of
progress across the high pressure and hopefully we will pick up stronger more
westerly winds within the next few hours.
Early during Isaac’s morning Watch he heard a whale blowing and
called me. Soon we heard him again and briefly spotted his back break the
surface a few hundred metres off the Starboard quarter. We spotted no more of
him during the next few minutes and so I returned to my bunk. I learnt later
however that the whale had followed us for the next couple of hours during
which Isaac heard him blowing from astern but did not see him. Quite a spooky
experience. Isaac also noticed Dolphins cavorting in the distance and saw one
perform the trick of scooting around on his tail.
The very light winds continued until 1300 when the breeze
increased from the South and at last we were sailing properly albeit only at 3
knots. After a spell without the pole I boomed out the genoa again and we
continued northwards in search of the westerly wind. Something had clearly gone
amiss with my arrangement with Chris to provide weather updates because I heard
nothing from him. However, in response to a message to Mick over the
Yellowbrick he confirmed that we should encounter south westerly winds sometime
on Sunday and should continue to head northwards.
When I
took our noon position and compared it with the previous day we had only
travelled a meagre 40 nautical miles further north. Probably Arctic Smoke’s
worst day’s run of the entire cruise and that had been with the engine on for
nine and half hours of the 24!
Later in the afternoon we spotted a group of Turtles pass us by in
the opposite direction but they were too far off to get a decent photograph. We
also saw a semi submerged oil drum only 20 or so metres away and were thankful
we had not run into it. Then our most exciting experience of the passage so
far; Isaac saw him first – a large whale breaching to starboard. After a few minutes,
we saw him breach once more. Isaac had seen his underside and his flippers on
the first occasion; this time we just saw his underside as he came up. His
belly seemed grey/white and the shape seemed to be fairly slim and of uniform
cylindrical appearance. After studying my whale book it seemed that he
conformed most to the description of the Fin Whale – the second largest animal
after the Blue Whale - on the planet. Alas we saw no more of him after that
however.
It was my turn to cook once again and I served up beefburgers with
fried onions and boiled potatoes and the last of the red cabbage. For desert,
we had a small melon but it was not quite fully ripe and therefore not at its
best.
We had continued sailing northwards at around 3 knots the whole
afternoon and were still doing so when I went off Watch at 0930. The day had
been sunny and warm once again, right up until sunset at 2125. We’re still on
Azores time and will have to change to UK time at some point in the future. Isaac
only reported the encounter the following day; we were again followed by a
whale for a few minutes. He didn’t see it, but just heard it blowing behind us.
Apart from it being dark, he confessed that he was in any case too scared to
look behind us.
Sunday
July 2nd 2017
By the time I came on Watch at 0130 the wind had eased and we were
back down to speeds of around 2 knots and were still heading northwards. Isaac
reported that it had been like that for most of the Watch. I was disappointed
having believed that the earlier increase in the wind from the south was a
precursor to us finding the south westerly winds above the high-pressure
system. There were some benefits to the high pressure however. The calm
conditions had allowed us to brew proper coffee in the percolator without risking
it being thrown off the stove and the days had been pleasantly sunny and warm
allowing me to spend most of the time in the cockpit in shorts and T-shirts. Isaac
being very fair remained dressed in long trousers and a long-sleeved shirt
however. Once we encounter the westerly winds, my shorts and T-shirts may well
become redundant! Apart from the few cooler/greyer days spent on Flores, I’ve
not worn more than shorts and T-shirts during the days since the middle of the
west bound Atlantic crossing last December. It’s going to be quite a strange
experience to have to get dressed again!
This is getting quite ridiculous, Isaac had yet another close
encounter with a whale this morning shortly after he took over the Watch. Once
again, he heard it blowing fairly close by – this time to Port but was too
scared to look! He’s had as many whale encounters in the last few days as I
have had on the entire cruise!
It’s been good to spend time with Isaac. We don’t normally see
much of each other with him living in Norwich and me in London and it’s given
us a chance to catch up with each other’s lives and generally chew the cud.
He’s settled quickly into the routine of passage life and has stood his Watches
and after his initial bout of sea-sickness has been fine. Our days have been
fairly quiet and uneventful apart from the occasional wild-life sitings but he
seems comfortable with the slow pace of live on board and has shown a keen
interest in the mysteries of the weather. Hopefully the settled conditions will
have helped his body adjust and he’ll be OK once the motion becomes more
lively.
I took a nap for a couple of hours after completing my Watch at
0530 shortly after dawn and just before sunrise. I surfaced again at 0900 to
discover the wind had increased a little but unexpectedly had backed to the
South East. We had therefore been pushed West of North on the Port tack during
the last couple of hours and so I tacked the boat onto to the starboard tack to
enable us to head East of North. We were now making around 4 knots, the fastest
we had sailed since leaving Terceria and it was a pleasure to feel Arctic Smoke
moving at a reasonable pace once again. Despite the increase in wind the sea
was still remarkably flat. Indeed, since leaving Terceria we’ve had flat seas;
sometimes the sea had been glassy calm too albeit that there had been a
moderate swell too. Since yesterday mid-afternoon however the swell had
disappeared and the sea was as flat as the Medway – indeed I have seen more
swell on the Medway on occasions! I didn’t think it was possible in mid Ocean!
Our noon to noon run was 65 nautical miles – an improvement at
least on the previous day. I have not started tracking our progress towards our
destination yet (The Isles of Scilly or Falmouth) because we are still simply
heading north in search of the Westerlies. However, we have about 952 miles
between us and the Isles of Scilly.
I’m increasingly finding myself anticipating the return to home
waters and how strange it will be to be to be back sailing there after two
years away. Of course, I spent one of
those years back home, but Arctic Smoke left Plymouth back in April 2015 with
me and Tony on board. If I’m finding the prospect of returning a strange one
after a mere two years, just think how odd it will feel for the likes of Evelyn
and Herve who will shortly be returning to France after 16 years away! I’ve
also been fantasising about future cruises and have realised I need another
life-time. It’s a strange bug I have caught – long distance cruising. I wonder
how other sailors experience it? I only truly enjoy relatively short chunks of
the actual sailing. When the boat is creaming along in ideal conditions on
relatively flat seas under a sunny sky with Dolphins cavorting around the bow
it’s truly magical. Similarly, at night under a clear star-lit sky it’s
wonderful – until drowsiness overtakes me and I need to sleep. The encounters
with whales – as few and often distant as they have been have been, have been
very special indeed. Once I had got the boat set-up properly for the ‘big’ gale
on the passage from Bermuda to Flores I even really enjoyed that. Departures
and landfalls/arrivals are also genuinely enjoyable. The experience of
returning to the mercy of the elements on departure is I suspect something that
drives most of us to sea time and again even when the memories of difficult
times are still fresh in the mind. Much of ocean sailing for me however has
been more about coping with either the challenge of the conditions or the shear
bloody monotony of them, or indeed both at the same time. That was the main
feature of the crossing from Mindelo in the Cape Verde to Martinique. Mick and
I experienced near gale force winds for the entire passage and that was a
challenge. Sixteen days of extreme rolling in huge swells with breakfast lunch
and dinner jumping across the cabin at frequent intervals and regular deposits
of the Atlantic Ocean in the cockpit – mostly on Mick – was also quite
monotonous. We both enjoyed our capability to make light of the conditions –
and hopefully Mick’s classic French Chef impersonations will eventually arrive
on YouTube; but I don’t think either of us enjoyed being thrown around like a
couple of rage dolls in a washing machine for days on end. The mountainous
swells were certainly awe inspiring and thrilling – no theme park ride can
possibly compete with the majesty of the Ocean rising up behind our little
craft only to send it creaming down the next slope at what felt like breakneck
speed. The howl of an approaching squall in the black of night and the
desperate struggle to reduce sail before it arrived got the adrenaline pumping
through my veins like nothing else – but it was not enjoyable. The relief of
our landfall at Fort de France, Martinique on Christmas Eve 2016 after such a
thrilling/infuriating/challenging, passage was probably the most enjoyable part
of the whole trip. Another very enjoyable aspect of ocean cruising is meeting
the world’s most wonderful characters and sharing one’s experience with them. I’ve
made many new friends along the way. Some I may never meet again but I hope to
keep in contact with them and to follow their travels around the oceans.
1600 – Isaac spotted another whale off on our Port quarter. Too
far away to identify however. We just saw its back and dorsal fin. Around 1900
we spotted another briefly. This has certainly been the best passage for whale
spotting of the entire cruise.
Isaac cooked lunch earlier to make a change to our hitherto
standard lunch of bread, salami, cheese and cucumber – pasta with tinned Tuna –
very tasty and a nice change. I therefore cooked the dinner again, another
spicy meatballs dish this time served with bubble and squeak.
The wind gradually increased during the afternoon but remained in
the South East and so by the time Isaac started his night time Watch at 2200 we
were sailing nicely under goose winged main and genoa on the Starboard tack at
4-5 knots.
July 3rd
2017
By the time, I came on Watch at 0200 the wind had increased
further and we were making 5-6 knots under almost full sail with our COG
averaging 30-40áµ’T. From the start, I had one reef in the genoa owing to the
pole being too short to boom out the whole sail. The seas were still reasonably
flat however and so we were having a comfortable ride. Isaac was able to retire
to the fore-peak which still provided a comfortable berth. Weather information
provided by Chris and Mick was that the wind was forecast to veer to the North
West on Tuesday and we should therefore keep north of the direct line to the
Scillies/Falmouth. That’s to try and ensure we don’t get embayed in Biscay
later in the passage.
The rest of my Watch passed without incident but with the wind and
therefore boat speed varying quite a bit. The wind direction too was quite
variable and therefore sometimes I had the genoa boomed out and other times
not. By the time Isaac relieved me at 0600 I was ready for my bunk again and so
handed over to him with instructions to wake me at 0900 if I had not surfaced
or if there was no reason to call me before then. At 0800 I was woken by Isaac
calling me from the cockpit. He had the lower washboard in with his head
protruding into the cabin, soaking wet and looking nervous. The wind was up and
we were heading too far Eastwards. I think a short squall was passing through.
He told me later he was very shocked at how quickly the wind had got up and was
rather worried. I got up too reef and get the genoa off the pole but by the
time I had finished the squall had passed and we were wallowing around at 3
knots and so I immediately set about shaking out the reef. The morning
continued wet and grey with the wind varying from SW to W and Force 3 to 4 so
sometimes we were moving along at a good speed whilst at others we were barely
making 3 knots. The sun came out in the afternoon and remained out until the
early evening and so we were able to re-charge the batteries in preparation for
the coming night. We saw no more whales. Isaac cooked a very tasty chilli
concarni with the last of our fresh meat.
The wind got up around 2030 and so I put a reef in the main (I’ve
by-passed the original first reef and so one reef equals what was two) and in
the genoa before handing over to Isaac and hitting the sack at 2130.
Tuesday 4th
July
Isaac woke me at 0100 because we were heading too far East and so
I got up shortly afterwards to make the course change. The wind was still
pretty fresh and we were making 5-6+ knots. At 0230 I went below to make a hot
drink and just after I had got down there was a loud crash and the cockpit was
suddenly a third full of water. Fortunately, none came below and I escaped a
major dousing!
At 0300 the AIS CPA alarm went off – we had a vessel about 8 miles
ahead of us on a reciprocal course. I called them up on the VHF. The vessel was
the AS Fabiana a cargo ship. She had us on her AIS and we passed each other about
45 minutes later, about 1.5 miles apart.
The wind held in the West ish Force 5-6 for the rest of day and we
continued under reefed main and genoa sometimes close and sometimes beam
reaching making 5-6 knots. The sea was quite lumpy and we took several waves in
the cockpit. It not being very pleasant outside we both spent most of our time
down below. A lot of snoozing took place. Breakfast was a muesli bar, lunch a
bacon and egg sandwich and dinner a pre-cooked meal heated through in a
saucepan.
In the afternoon I read-up on the Scilly Isles - which are by all
accounts breath-takingly beautiful -where I hoped to meet my son Stephen on the
12th July. I’ve never managed to visit them. I had hoped to in 2012
during our month-long Channel cruise but the weather was against us then. Unfortunately,
the Guide to the Scillies over which I had drooled in 2012, emphasised that
they were not a sensible landfall rendezvous at the conclusion of a lengthy
Ocean passage. The Guide stresses the need for settled conditions and day-light
as pre-cursors for approaching the islands. At this juncture I’ve no way of
knowing what the conditions will be like nor whether we would make a daylight
landfall around the time of our as yet unknown arrival. One really needs to
depart from a nearby location on the English or French coasts to be able to
obtain a suitable weather/light window. I therefore sent a message to Stephen
via Sharon that we would have to make Falmouth our rendezvous. Falmouth has the
major advantage of being accessible in all weathers and is therefore an ideal
landfall at the end of an Ocean passage. It also is blessed with every
conceivable facility and service a yacht may need. Falmouth also houses part of
the National Maritime Museum, home to Robin Knox-Johnson’s, Suali, in which he
became the first person to circumnavigate the world non-stop and singlehanded
back in XXXX? I
therefore hope to be able to have enough time to visit before setting sail once
again with Stephen. He only has 5 days off from his busy Junior Doctor job
though, so I’ll have to make a fairly swift turn around so he can make the most
of his short holiday.
The latest Weather forecast from Chris was broadly more of the
same for the next three days but with the winds moderating tomorrow, Wednesday.
Wednesday
5th July
More of the same until 0430 when the wind eased considerably and
so I shook the reefs out. Boat speed was down to 4-5 knots. The dawn was grey
and damp. The battery voltage fell again requiring us to run the engine at 0530
for an hour. The afternoon gradually cheered up with some week sunshine making
an appearance at around 1400 when the wind also backed much further West
requiring the genoa to be poled out to Port. Conditions were good enough to
enjoy sitting out in the Cockpit for a while and as of 1530 the solar panels
had collected enough charge to replenish all but one of the negative 10 Amp
hours left after running the engine for an hour earlier. The wind continued to
veer and back from SSW to W, requiring gybing every few hours.
Our
noon to noon run was 120 miles.
I cooked dinner – a sort of mushy & spicy corned beef hash. It
was tasty enough though.
The wind continued to vary during the course of the evening and
Isaac’s night Watch. We gybed once just before dinner at 2000 and then I had to
get up at 2330 to Gybe back again. We passed the half way mark during the
night.
Thursday 6th
July
My Watch started with another gybe as the wind veered West once
more. During the course of the Watch I had to adjust Angus and the sheets a few
times but no further gybes were required. I had to run the engine for an hour
and 20 minutes to charge the battery after the low voltage alarm went off after
22.2 Amp Hours had been consumed and we charged the batteries for an hour using
the engine. The night had been cloudy and drizzly with no stars or moon and the
dawn was the same minus the drizzle.
The wind gradually died during the next three hours until once
again we were becalmed. After 3 hours of wallowing around going nowhere I
decided use the engine for a maximum of 5 hours. We duly motored for the next 5
hours (at 3 knots in order to conserve fuel) under grey skies. Thankfully when
I switched the engine off at 1500 there was just enough of a breeze from the SW
to push us along at 2 knots or so. At 1545 we spotted a group of whales off to
starboard. I heard their blows first and then we could just make out the dorsal
fins of a few of them breaking the surface. They were probably 500 or so metres
off and therefore difficult to identify. However, after consulting my whale
watching book bought at the Whale Museum on Flores, we were reasonably
confident we had seen a group of Sei whales; the curved dorsal fin and low
round blow being the only identifying features we could make out.
At noon
our run was 103 miles.
The wind picked up a little during the afternoon and varied
between SSW and W and for the most part we made between 3.5 and 4.5 knots first
on one tack and then the other as changes in the wind required us to gybe one
way and then the other. I cooked a frankfurter sort of stir fry served with
rice for dinner. It was OK apart from the tinned frankfurters which were pretty
disgusting. I also had a go at making yogurt in a large insulated food
container I bought in Pria da Vitoria. The problem was I was not sure whether
the yogurt I had bought was a live culture or not, nor did I have a thermometer
with which to measure the temperature of the milk. After 8 hours, the result
was disappointing – no yogurt just a faintly yogurt smell – probably from the
yogurt used as a starter. I put the lid back on and wrapped the container back
up but do not expect a positive result.
There was little change in the weather over night. The winds
continued to be light and broadly in the West. I had to get up once during
Isaac’s Watch to gybe the boat.
Friday
July 7th
During my Watch I made several adjustments to Angus to take
account of the wind’s direction but without needing to gybe. The wind increased
a little during the early hours and from around 0400 we were making between 4.5
and 5 knots.
I managed to eak the batteries out a little longer by turning the
fridge down to its lowest (warmest) setting; the alarm did not go off until
almost 6 O Clock, at which point it was necessary to run the engine again.
The yogurt almost worked! After another 8 hours we had a thick
slightly yogurty milky liquid. I was worried that if we left it out in the warm
for longer it would sour so we put it in the fridge but as suspected that also
prevented any further development and so we’ve only got the thick liquid! Oh
well I’ll have to try again when I have a thermometer and am 100% certain I’ve
got a live yogurt culture.
Our
noon to noon run was a disappointing 89 miles putting us 85 miles nearer to our
waypoint off The Lizard.
The day was for the most part grey with occasional very hazy
sunshine and occasional drizzle. The wind continued to blow from a generally
westerly direction about Force 2-3 and I continued to have to gybe the boat to
keep us more or less on course. We made between 3.5 and 4 knots for the most
part. The weather update from Chris was for light Westerly to South Westerly
winds for the remainder of the day and for Saturday increasing to 15k on
Sunday. He also advised to keep north of the rhumb line. Our Waypoint was on a
bearing of 065áµ’ and so I decided to aim for a COG of around 045áµ’. As darkness
fell the wind reduced further and our speed fell to 2.5 to 3 knots.
Isaac called me at 2330 when the AIS alarm went off. It was a
large fishing vessel crossing our stern and in addition to its navigation
lights it seemed to be displaying a single all round white light of much
greater brightness.
Saturday 8th
July
Progress remained very slow during the remainder of the night time
and into the early hours. At 0440 the low battery alarm went off and so I
started the engine and this time engaged gear as well and so we motor-sailed
for an hour or so making 3.5 – 4 knots. After that we spent most of the day
becalmed with periods of very slow sailing mostly northwards. We spotted a
large whale to port at 1645.
At 1900 whilst sailing slowly north we had an AIS contact to the
West heading East. It was Sunrise a drilling vessel en route to Flushing. We
lost all wind while they past us and lay becalmed. I contacted them on the VHF
to ensure they were aware of us and a little later they enquired whether we
were OK – they seemed quite concerned about us. I reassured them we were fine
and just needed some wind. I then asked for a Forecast. Strangely, all he said
was that it was not good and would remain the same over night and tomorrow. I
thanked him anyway and with further urging for us to stay safe they were on
their way. Thunder and lightning remained around for a few hours during the
evening but was never directly overhead. We did though experience prolonged
periods of heavy rain.
After our encounter with Sunrise we had dinner – a tinned mince
sauce livened up with onions and garlic and cabbage with rice. Shortly after
the breeze returned from the NNE and we sailed very close hauled and therefore
very slowly Eastwards on the port tack.
Sunday 9th
July
The low battery alarm went off at 0300 and so I ran the engine for
an hour and a half. The wind had also backed a little further Westwards by that
time and so I was able to sail off the wind a little enabling us to pick up
speed to around 5k. Our COG was around 75/80áµ’ whereas our WP at the Lizard is
at 65áµ’ but based on Chris’s last weather update the wind should back further
west during the day.
The northerly wind has a distinct chill to it but for the first
time in a few days the dawn has brought some genuine brightness with it and it
looks like we should see the sun today!
The wind did indeed back further West and as the day unfolded I
was able to ease the sheets and by midday we were making 5-6+ knots on a close
to a beam reach sailing very well indeed.
Our noon to noon run was therefore not quite the disaster it once
seemed likely to be. We covered 83 miles – some of them backwards and so only
got 68 miles nearer to our Waypoint south of The Lizard. The good wind
continued throughout the day and into the night and the evening forecast from
Chris was for more of the same for the next two days, Monday and Tuesday before
veering to the North and easing during Wednesday. If the forecast holds we
stand a reasonable chance of making Falmouth on Wednesday. The pilotage challenge
we face is that with the prospect of having to deal with northerly winds later
we need to keep north of our desired track to avoid having to beat against the
north wind; however, the traffic separation zones around the Isles of Scilly
are in effect obstacles in our way which we need to avoid. We will therefore
have to go further south than would otherwise be desirable and may still be
faced with a beat to windward to make Falmouth. The race is therefore on to get
close to Falmouth before we have to face the North wind.
Monday 10th
July
 |
| Isaac |
At 0430 I attempted to start the engine to charge the batteries –
the alarm had not yet gone off but would soon – only to find that there was not
enough oomph in the engine battery to turn the engine over. Only yesterday I
had been extolling the virtues of the battery to Isaac. I had installed it with
his help back in 2012 and then it was not new. I found it odd that it started
to expire now given it was getting a regular charge every day. I resorted to
using the decompression leaver to get the engine turning over fast enough to
start it. For the first time on the entire cruise the engine was also a bit
reluctant to start but did run fine once it was going. There is perhaps
something not quite right however. Perhaps the Buhk hasn’t got used to the cold
weather! All I can do for now is to keep my fingers crossed that it behaves
enough to get us to Falmouth.
Well, the wind died away around 0800 and backed further South. At
0830 I poled out the Genoa to port and to enable us to head further East. Our
speed dropped to around 3.5 knots until around 1500 when it picked up a bit and
we were making 4.5+ knots and occasionally 6k. Our COG was around 60-70áµ’ with
our new Waypoint marking the south west corner of the Traffic Separation Zone
to the south of the Scillies bearing 77áµ’. Shortly after our speed picked up we
were visited by a large pod of Atlantic Common Bottle-nosed Dolphins. They
stayed around for more than an hour playing around the boat.
[The
following entries are summaries of events written in Plymouth on 16th
July, because if I don’t get this out soon it’s never going to happen]
Tuesday 11th
July
The closer we got to the Lizard the more fishing vessels we
encountered and they were nearly all French! Vessels engaged in fishing are the
stand-on vessels in any potential collision situation and therefore we always
had to take the necessary steps to avoid them. During the final 48 hours of the
passage we had to take frequent avoiding action. It was the most nerve wracking
48 hours of the entire cruise. One never knows when they are going to change
course and therefore one minute one can be safely out of the way and the next
one’s on a collision course with one or more of them.
Today the wind was pretty fresh from the South East for a number
of hours which was most unexpected and we bowled along under two reefs for much
of the day. Once again I had to start the engine to charge the batteries in the
early hours; thankfully the engine battery behaved on this occasion and the
engine started without a problem. The wind started to veer around 0800 and by
0830 it was west of south and blowing Force 5/6 and so quite lively. The wind
continued to veer during the course of the morning and so I soon had to pole
out the genoa. We had to avoid a number of French fishing vessels and on one
occasion I tried to raise one on the VHF to establish his intentions but got no
answer! Later in the evening we had to head further East in order to avoid the
Traffic Separation Zone to the South East of the Scillies and had to gybe.
Wednesday
12th July
By midnight we were too far south of our best course for the
Lizard and needed to sail closer to the wind meant dispensing with the pole. In
the process the genoa wrapped itself around the forestay several times. The
only way or sorting it out was to unfasten the sheets from the boat end and let
the clue fly out to leeward. I was then able to furl the sail up and re-attach
the sheets. For a while though the genoa was flogging madly and shaking the
whole rig. I suspect the old Forestay may not have stood up to the punishment!
Very shortly afterwards we had to take further action to avoid yet more fishing
boats. By this time the wind had veered further and was now blowing from the
north and we were therefore close-hauled on the port tack to lay the Lizard. At
0245 a further and very close encounter with two French fishing boats in close
proximity to one another. One was not transmitting on AIS and I got into a
horrible pickle trying to reconcile what I could see on the water with the
information being displayed on the AIS screen and at one point I had to run off
away from them (which meant going in the opposite direction from our intended
route) and heave-to in order to work out what the hell was going on. I ended
passing the nearest one far too close for comfort; probably only 500 or so
metres away. My nerves were sufficiently shredded to warrant recording an
expletive in the log!
At 0700 land was spotted. By 0900 the wind had died away
completely and we motored for the next 7 hours against a foul tide. With
daylight came the sun and we enjoyed a glorious sunny day with a lunch in the
cockpit – a marvellous omelette cooked up by Isaac and served with a bottle of
chilled Pico white wine. This was the
first time since 1976 that I had sailed in these waters and I had forgotten how
beautiful the Cornish coastline is.
 |
Land Ho
|
 |
| Isaac with the end in sight! |
At 1600 we tied up at Falmouth Visitors Haven. After 13 days our
passage from the Azores back to the UK was over.
We had experienced every type of weather short of a full gale.
Isaac was smiling once again after what was at times a pretty demanding and
uncomfortable passage. Unfortunately his schedule required him to get home ASAP
and he was therefore unable to stay for the rather more enjoyable coastal
sailing that followed.
The next day Sharon and Stephen arrived and we all spent an
enjoyable day together including hosting drinks for our new neighbours Geoff
and Lynn.
On Friday Sharon and Isaac drove back to London and Stephen and I set off for Fowey. We had a wonderful sail on a beam reach with the NW wind off the land and picked up a buoy on the River around 1500. We explored ashore and had a very good Fish dinner that Stephen paid for. It’s great when one’s kids start doing that!
On Saturday we sailed to the Yealm. The weather was not quite as
good but we had another good sail. The entrance to the Yealm was very
interesting with a fairly narrow gap between a sand bar on one side and rocks
on the other. I inadvertently made things more exciting than they needed to be
by hanging on to the mainsail as we went up the river only to discover there
was very little room in which to manoeuvre in order to head to wind to get it
down. We managed without incident however and after a little exploration picked
up a buoy on the second attempt. I had lost my boathook and so getting hold of
the buoy was more difficult than it should have been. Stephen did an excellent
job manoeuvring the boat in a very confined space whilst I took issue with the
buoy.
We were both feeling lazy and the weather was damp and grey so we
stayed on board and enjoyed an excellent steak dinner.
On Sunday morning we got up at 0700
had a quick cuppa and then motored round to Sutton Harbour in Plymouth. After a
fried breakfast we walked to the rail station where Steps got his train home to
Sutton Coldfield. Tony arrived in the afternoon and we met Neal (my old school
friend and ex-submarina) and Trina for afternoon tea/beer and caught up on each
other’s gossip.
Tomorrow we have an early start for
Salcombe where my brother Sebastian (Basty) will join us on Tuesday.
