eXite - 18/11 Crazy times in the accelaration zone

It was a relief to drop the lines to the dock and leave for the crossing, even though the weather forecast could be better for the first part.

The start had a little bit more wind than the one in Las Palmas, and all boats (around 80-90) seemed to get away fine. In Las Palmas we set out to be first over the start line, but this time we just wanted to get away in somewhat clean air, which we managed okay.

The weather forecast from the ARC mentioned acceleration zones between the island with gusts up to 30kn, but it took almost two hours with much less wind to get there. But oh what a ride when we did.
In a matter of a few minutes the wind went from 10 to steady 25, and we had gusts between 30-36 for quite some time.
A lot of boats were running with their kites and para sailors, so really hope they got them down in time, or were in areas with less wind than we had.

We have set out on a more southerly route for the first day or two, to hopefully avoid the worst of the waves that are coming in on Saturday, and then again on Monday.
It looks like we are in a minority, as most other boats seem to hit the rhumb line and take the waves. We would probably do the same if we had more people on board, but as we are only two adults (and two kids) we are trying to have a smoother ride, if it is possible. Will probably find out on Tuesday.

A bit before dark we got a vhf call from a boat next to us to watch out for some humpback whales that were heading our way, but we saw nothing. Don’t really want to be hitting one of those as it would most likely make for a very short trip for us…

Now we are rolling away in the night, pitch black with a lot of stars and a messy sea state, taking turns to get some well deserved sleep.

//Exite