Having been busy trying to find the wind on the way
north and then returning south, on Thursday we found it in spades!
From noon onwards we had SE, NE at about 15-20 kts. Then during the night it
increased to 27kts, gusting to 30kts for time, for several hours from the
East, before declining to about 20kts or so from the East to North East. Around
2am we passed a yacht hove to, very difficult to see given the conditions
though. At dawn the wind died completely and we went round in circles for a
time, before 15-20 kts arrived from the NE. This was all accompanied by squalls,
light showers, the odd glimps of the sun, thunder and lightning - some of which
remains here this morning(Saturday), with deafening thunder claps over head and
torrential rain continuing. The snorkle masks were very useful.
We arrived back in Nanny Cay around 5:15pm last
night and had to rush off to Customs and Immigration in Road Harbour, who were
perplexed to see us while dealing with ferries from St. Thomas. "Err.....You
left and came back without going anywhere else? Then your last Port of Call was
International Waters." First time we've heard that one. However after much
hanging around were we cleared in, returned to Nanny Cay and went to bed,
exhausted from Thursday night's weather. By the way, we have not been able
to get the Aries going given the variable weather conditions requiring, most of
the time, subtle touches to the wheel, so the return trip of 675 miles was all
done by hand.
On the fishing front we have a line around the prop
- due to the 360's yesterday, caught another bunch of seaweed, but played host
to three flying fish, who no doubt thought they saw some advantage on hitching a
lift on Andromeda, but to no avail!
So now its off to find someone who can sort out the
gearbox and to try and dry out the boat.
Many thanks to all of you who have sent messages of
support - we have been very touched and its helped keep the spirits up. We hope
ARC Europe is a success and that you all enjoy the party tonight, the
prize-giving tomorrow and the trip to Horta next week - our thoughts
will be with you for a fantastic, safe and memorable trip. We are keeping our
fingers crossed that it will be a swift repair and we can try and catch up with
you in the Azores.
Safe sailing,
Andrew & Susan
S/V
Andromeda