Povoa and the one-armed man

Sham Insha'Allah
Graham Vickers
Tue 7 Jul 2009 14:00
Had three hours in Pavoa de Varzim - filled up with diesel after
clambering over fishing boats and eventually finding the one-armed man
that operated the pump.

Bought some fresh supplies and had a meal at the marina restaurant.

Back at sea in very fresh winds 25 knots astern with a beamy sea. The auto
helm has decided again that it cant cope, even with new parts, and we are
once again on manual steering which with these winds is both trick and
tiring.

Fordy nearly killed me on the way in. The boat gybed and the boom shot
across with huge force. Somehow I heard screams and the sound of the
mainsail looming and just ducked in time. Its amazing how in one brief
moment ones life could be changed .

I am amazed how the wind is always blowing a gale wherever I seem to be.
How come it isnt back up at Coruna? Check out the weather shots when they
are posted later if you dont believe me.

Another 180 miles to Sines.

16:00 BST 7th July

See what I mean - The red indicates wind speeds upto 30 knots - I was
nervous that we may get the 40 knots we saw in Biscay but they peaked at
29.5.

image/pjpeg