Biscay Triangle Leg 2 Day 3 - 2215 Arrive Ile d'Houat
Caduceus
Martin and Elizabeth Bevan
Thu 31 Jul 2008 22:15
asymmetric appeared on a converging course and provided a great opportunity
for a mutual photography session from which copies are awaited. The
photography terminated as the wind rose above the critical 15kts for our
light weather sails and we changed down to genoa, main and mizzen which gave
us enough of a performance difference to be able to pull gradually ahead on
a beam reach achieving rather better speeds which gave us the possibility of
getting to Ile Houat before dark.
Just when everything is going well the sea changes its mind, in this case by
a rapid increase in wind speed from 15kts to 30kts and rather more in gusts.
We were fortunate to be given 20 minutes warning of this by two yachts,
Perelandra and Norrsken 15-20nm behind us on our starboard quarter. Well
reefed down we continued to make good progress. Any thoughts of using the
short cut passages between the islands were abandoned due to an increasingly
bouncy wind over tide sea state as we approached shallower water. Sunset
was dramatic with the sun piercing stormy clouds and making curious
patterns.
Rounding Ile Hoedic and Les Grandes Cardinaux reefs at a respectful distance
we came onto the wind and were able to abeam Ile Hoedic going north before
we had to resort to motor sailing in order to make Houat before nightfall.
Rounding Houat we dropped anchor at 2215 with enough light to see what we
were doing.
354nm from La Coruna with under 4 hours motoring.