can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Joy of Shamrock Quay - Day 2 starts with The Big Fella



Well, what an amazing time we have had in Mindelo, we have all thoroughly enjoyed our time there and had some fantastic meals out in various recommended cafés and restaurants, and met so many lovely people. And what a fantastic surprise when we were awarded with 1st place in the Cruising B division at the crew supper Tuesday night! After provisioning up at different markets and street sellers we crossed the start line near the back of the pack (last minute.com as always!). The wind was certainly howling as we all set off between the islands, in the constant 30s with a sea closely matched, and we watched many boats in front rounding up into the wind and struggling to get back. We opted for mizzen and headsail only knowing how difficult Joy can be reefing the main with inboom furling in these conditions, and this worked very well for us and we were reasonably comfortable and enjoyed the thrilling sailing. The top gust recorded was 40.6 knots with a boat speed of 10.3!
However we made the mistake of getting into a wind shadow to the west of Santo Antao and after a flying start we bobbed around for a couple of hours trying all other sail combinations as the wind boxed the compass several times. It was one of the few occasions that made cooking meatballs a real hazard. When we found the wind again, the genoa was poled out on the main boom and the gib on the pole, just a few minutes after setting this up the pole went bang and fell on the deck in two pieces with the mast fitting also broken. Luckily it only damaged the deck, and missed the boys. So on day one we have no pole for our twin headsail arrangement. The wind eventually returned to a NE and we continued overnight with main, mizzen and headsail, 30degrees off the wind. An uneventful night with a beautiful bright moon all night, shining behind us like a flash light, still with many other boats in view. When morning came we decided on our asymmetric - 'The Big Fella'. We are sailing beautifully in 16-20 knots of wind with only the occasional roll from a large wave. Another awesome dolphin display from 10 or so enormous dolphins, very different markings from the last ones on leg 1 and so much bigger, not so acrobatic but all fighting for their place riding the bow wave. We have slip slop slapped as the sun is very hot, and have deployed our towed generator to help with energy consumption, and as our racing days are over we are settling into life at sea, cruising to St Lucia..
Susie

Previous | Next