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Girolle - Log days 1 & 2 - The Soup Incident.




After months of build up and preparation the big day finally arrived for Girolle and her crew of 3 to set sail on their adventure from Plymouth across the Bay of Biscay to Portugal. Dave and Andy sailed Girolle to Plymouth a week prior, Dave remained in situ to prepare the boat. After a lengthy stint on the glorious M5, Sue and Andy arrived literally just in time to hop on a minibus destined for the welcome briefing and dinner, where thoughts were soon channelled to the task in hand. We got chatting with fellow ARC Portugal participants, forging new friendships that will no doubt endure for years to come.
Saturday was spent shopping for provisions and making final preparations. We now realise we have enough food on board to sink a battleship (should we encounter any) and are struggling to consume the weight of food that is currently sinking lower and lower in the food hammock that Dave rigged up.
We let slip the boat at 8am Sunday and made our way to the start line in front of RPCYC. It was exciting lining up with all the other boats, the first time any of us have done any kind of ARC event.
Conditions during the first 5 or 6 hours were interesting, the previous day’s sunshine had given way to grey skies and some rain. We had some 15 knots of wind and some decent waves to contend with. It was during this that Sue learned valuable lesson no1... don’t choose to cook Heinz Roasted Tomato, Red Pepper & Garlic soup (other brands are available) for lunch when the boat is heeled right over. It was difficult enough staying upright, so feeling pretty proud having successfully poured it into bowls, the boat hit a big wave and the soup destined for the last bowl ended up everywhere except where it was meant to be. We are still finding soup reminders, in spite of a hefty clean up operation. Why does there seem to be way more volume than was ever in the pan? Dave remarked “ Sue you’ve got it all over you, look at your hands, it’s like you’ve got fake tan lines”... so dear reader, there is no need to spend a fortune on fake tan anymore, just bathe in soup!
We are settling into crew routine, the first 24 hours took a bit of getting used to, each of us taking it in turns to helm for 3 hours.
Currently, the sun is shining and we are heading West from the French Brest peninsula. Our adventure continues.
Author: Sue


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