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

Menu

Webster - Seat of the pants stuff....



Friday 6th June 2014 Ponta Delgada to Santa Maria 55nm

Friday dawned bright and breezy and having had a relatively early night we were ready to go by 0730. Neal tried to put in a waypoint for Santa Maria in our newly reset chart plotter and needless to say it froze again and refused to turn off. My patience is sorely tried now, it has got to go! At least the auto pilot was working fine, so there is an electronic rival for Igor on board again.

We had not even slipped our lines when on VHF we heard Gary from Arcarius, who had set off a few minutes earlier, call to say he had engine failure and required a tow back into the marina. We hurried to let go our lines to help but then heard Morning Haze who was in the vicinity call to say she had offered a tow in and we watched as Arcarius limped back - a burnt out starter motor which will keep them in dock for a good few days until a replacement is flown in. Have a boat, have a problem.........bad luck guys.

There was no set start line for this leg but our friends on Deaf Ear as usual had laid down the challenge. We decided to give no quarter on this leg although we had one reef in the main given the forecast and as we got out of the harbour it nearly blew my wig off so it was the right decision. We poled out the jib on starboard tack and fair took off with building seas from the NW, as forecast. Old Deaf Ears was going to have to go a bit to beat us in this stuff!

A squall came through after a half hour which needed a couple of rolls in the jib but it soon passed and the sun came out to give sparkling sailing conditions, 20-25 knots NNW. There were several boats some way ahead and we soon thrashed past them, giving the traditional "Hi Ho, we're coming to get you" call on channel 72 to Reberth as we flew past, with a rooster tail rising high behind the boat as we hit 12 knots down a wave! Their first mate Carl is the newly appointed Canadian representative of the Dunchilioec Treacle Mines on the grounds that he has managed to negotiate a new contract with some Irish leprechauns who, being of small height and stature are perfect for the job underground and being mythical, fit the bill nicely. He is as mad as we are so congratulations on your new appointment.

Back to reality, everyone excepting Neal with his bad back was clamouring to get hold of the wheel - no need for auto pilot on this leg! Igor indeed got a little tetchy as he had to relinquish his grip on the wheel, mumbling something in Slovenian no one could understand. Neal meanwhile was a little quiet and Dave reckoned that the pain killers he was on contained Valium as apparently normally he would be squealing in these seas at this sort of speed on their own boat. He was quietly holding on tight though as his white knuckles revealed, whilst keeping a keen and valuable watch astern to prevent us reversing into anybody.

It was only 1030 and Land Ahoy was shouted by Igor this time who wins the coveted Blue Peter Badge for the eagle eye to spot Santa Maria first some way off our port bow. As Dave unfairly pronounced, having passed the other boats it would give Igor something to aim at!

This boat doesn't half go in these sorts of conditions and with the sun out we could not have it better, we just flew! Big grins all around, even Neal although his was probably drug induced. Secretly, I believe he enjoyed as much as we did.

We arrived at around 3pm having averaged a staggering 8.5 knots for the trip and moored up in tricky cross winds in Vila do Porto, Santa Maria second boat in albeit the first boat, our Norwegian friends on Anettine, had left a couple of hours or so before us.

It's a lovely island and we have a trip booked for Saturday after lunch following the Skippers briefing and the scheduled Zumba class at 9am. However, there is an England v New Zealand rugby test on during Zumba; the choice is Zumba/Rugby? Not really a tough one...........but only after I have done some laundry given that even I can't make a pair of undies last more than four days, especially after this roller coaster ride today.

The next leg will be the completion of the North Atlantic circuit for me and for Webster, Web-star as the family on Starship refer to her as. Hopefully she will see us safe across on this last the leg as she has done so far, despite abusing her a little on the way here. The wind is set to drop to 10 knots and come round to SW as the deep depression moves north and the Azores high re-establishes itself. So we are looking to head north of the rhumb line which is due east to Lagos and into the Portuguese trade winds giving moderate N'Easterlies from about half way across with any luck. Without the chart plotter we have no radar nor AIS so we are going to have to be extra vigilant as there are some very busy shipping lanes approaching the Portuguese coast which we will not be able to spot electronically.

Lagos, here we come!

Hi Hoooo!

Charlie

Hi H



Chas Baynes
Sent from my iPad

Previous | Next