Another lively Sail

Luna Quest
W. Eric Faber
Fri 7 Mar 2014 15:30
Position: 15.34N 61.27W

Daily Run: 21 miles

Under a clear sky and a fresh breeze on the beam I left the anchorage in the Saints islands on March 6th at 8.30am to make my way south to the next island, Dominica. I had two reefs in the mainsail, but under a full Genoa, Luna Quest powered along at 6.5kn to cover the 21 miles. As the Saintes grew fainter with distance, Dominica featured stronger and stronger on the horizon enveloped in a blue misty haze. I arrived at St Rupert's Bay, Portsmouth, by midday to be met by fierce head-on winds that nearly had me "in irons" despite the 1800 revs on the engine. I crept forward towards the shore and secured a place in the anchorage by 12.30pm. Fierce katabatic winds can sound quite disconcerting and there is always the worry that the anchor might drag, but the bottom is sand and this time I have let out 45mtrs of chain in 8mtrs of depth.