Farfelu - A day at the races

We are beginning to discover our confidence in Farfelu. The last two legs have been quite demanding; the leg from Figueira to Peniche was postponed due to unfavourable sea conditions so we had an extra day to mooch around town but an early morning departure into a rather grey day with the remains of a distinct northerly swell saw the fleet on its way. On each day the winds were north-north-west so almost dead astern. We sailed a pretty good course from Figueiras and managed to record 11.4 knots at one stage, albeit briefly but it shows on the AIS log so I'm chuffed! Even more to our surprise, we were third across the line at the finish, so rather a good day was had by all. We rafted up alongside a similar boat for the night and were given a splendid spicy chicken supper in their company, slept like logs and rose at a horribly early hour to set off for Oeiras, which is near to Lisbon. The run to Oeiras was in similar conditions, wind astern, so having crossed the start line carrying the wooden spoon we zig-zagged downwind carving a not-very-direct route and doing our best to avoid a few of the slower boats whilst dodging a minefield of lobster pot markers.

Fortunately we had been warned of the increase of wind force at certain headlands and, as soon as the leading pack encountered them, we heard a lot of excitement over the radio. Trailing in mid-field has its advantages, we had plenty of time to reduce sail and it was just as well to do so; the wind rose to 42 knots on the beam as we rounded the cape to approach the finish, we belted along in near perfect conditions with the sun shining at last, helmsman whooping with delight as Farfelu strode out at over 10 knots for the home stretch. Two days of fabulous sailing, exhilarating stuff only lacking the dolphins that other people managed to attract. Maybe our turn next time?

It must be said that the rally organisers are doing a great job, we are assigned berths before arrival and there's a very well practised system of bringing boats in, helping with mooring lines and preventing drama. It's a pleasure to have so many pairs of hands to assist with the close quarters manoeuvres. Karen has definitely got the hang of it and every new arrival becomes easier.

We have found local bar that has satellite TV so we'll all be there tomorrow morning cheering on the Lions. There is a token number of Aussies on the fleet (they get everywhere) so there's likely to be some cheering for both sides. As the SAS say, who cares who wins!

JPT