1 June 2005
Chiscos - Atlantic Cruise
John Simpson
Wed 1 Jun 2005 12:42
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We finally left Madeira on Sunday morning after a
great few days in the sun. The crew aboard Chiscos is now Rob, Carrie, Regis and
myself. The first two days of the trip were in strong NE 5-6 winds - well
forward of the beam so lots of spray and quite a violent motion. This took it's
toll on the crew (except Carrie - who talked her way through it!) However, this
has now given way to a gentle NE2-3 and we are excited about arriving in the
Azores tomorrow (We currently have 132 miles to run).
It became traditional for visiting ships in
the great days of sail to paint their ships name on the harbour wall so
that subsequent vessels would know who had been in port before them (obviously
before the days of satellite communication!!). Big ships don't do it any more,
but the yachtsmen have continued the tradition. We followed suite - so when you
next visit Madeira - go to the harbour and look at the painting on the wall and
one should look like this...
 (Carrie writes) - It's been a fantastic trip with
all the elements of an good adventure. We have had some cracking sailing with
strong, consistent wind. I have been suprised by the size of the swell - it's a
big ocean out here! We have had a few encounters with the locals: two turtles,
two small fin whales and some dolphins came and swam by the boat breifly
yesterday. Today we have seen Portuguese Man-of-war jelly fish and the usual
skewers and storm petrels (or 'storm pretzels' if you did an 'Arts-type'
degree). Now, things have calmed down a lot, and as we motor along with the
music playing, it's bliss. John may even get his guitar out in a minute and give
us his Paul McCartney impression!
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