Some of the details
Beowulf
Tom Fenton and Faith Ressmeyer
Sun 1 Jul 2012 21:57
But what about that crossing? It was an incredible mix of adrenalin adventure and patient passing of the time. We had winds of all kinds, from none to force 6/7. We had dolphin visits by day and phosphorescence by night to entertain and amaze us. I managed to fix a couple of cooked meals the first couple of days and then was barely able to pour boiling water for a mug of soup or cup of tea, the boat was throwing us around so much. I brushed my teeth but didn't change clothes for 4 days. When our alternator belt broke and we knew we couldn't motor or charge the battery, we didn't miss our chart plotter or auto tiller, really. When our wind vane seized and we had to steer ourselves through the night we were glad there were three of us. We rejoiced in the few hours of sun that we got and accepted the drizzle and the fog. We talked or didn't for hours on end. We kept our watches or stayed up glued to the weather and the conditions.. And once in sight of the high coastline of northern Spain, none of us slept.
It was so exciting to enter the ria at Viveiro, to realise we had done it, to find a shower and a beer and a big proper meal, to rest and sleep and wake up knowing that this bit at least was behind us.
Relaxed and happy
Faith