Day 7
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Day 7 The Entertainment Management of Great Escape have exceeded themselves today in their efforts to make this trip unforgettable for us, the crew! We were treated to an “Open Engine Day” – they must have noticed that we are a keen, technically interested crowd. Everything from filters, to air-vents to diesel-pipes were on display for us exclusively. And the show even guest-starred Dan of Skyelark, making it seem so easy to do diesel-tastings! After a few hours of excitement, we set off from Baiona, filled with new knowledge. To get us back into the real sailing mood, the management had arranged a moderate sea with a quite strong wind. As we were belting along, a small “entertainment-snack” was presented to us in the form of more than 15 large dolphins doing a selection of tricks and stunts! In particular their jumping through hoops of fire and juggling colourful fish was amazing and the applause was never ending. Even the occasional “beeeeeautiful” escaped Robs lips. There must be something in that chocolate, he got from his daughter.... The strong winds were followed by 15 minutes of 15 minutes more of 15 minutes wind.... ....followed by no wind..... So the well running engine was back to work. We all enjoyed its gentle purr. My nightfall watch went all well, enjoying the good company of first Maggie, watching the evening star rise, then Jeremy (Rob’s, not Nicole’s). And then! The Entertainment Management had yet another treat for us! As we thought that now they could not come up with more, the engine stopped again and left us in suspense.....what to expect.... It was “Open Engine by Night”! It was lit up now by flashing head torches making the features stand out in a whole new perspective – absolutely brilliant – even Nicole and Jeremy (in this case Nicole’s) stayed up to watch the filter, air-vents and tool-display, despite the long night the night before. It was obvious that none of us could bear to miss out on this magical moment of watching the brave repeating the diesel-tastings. Too bad diesel doesn’t burn very well: a fire blowing show in the darkness would have completed this evening! Of course any show-manager knows that more stages are better, so the amazing two had arranged a towing demonstration by Skyelark. We followed the stern-lights of Skyelark for a few hours, doing circles and s-shape manoeuvres, dodging lobster-traps and fishing nets, elegantly lit for us by the crew of Skyelark. Very interesting guided tour of the fishing industry out of the Portuguese coast! And as the grande finale the engine was up and running again, and we were safely guided to a surprise harbour – yet another treat in this adventure! We, the crew, send a big thank you to Emily and Stephen for an exciting sailing day and their hard, hard work! De bedste
hilsner PS. This blog is a re-write of the original blog, as the original blog was flushed out the following night when the laptop on the chart table decided to take a shower...... |