Day 9 – Appendix 1

12:01 to 18:00 25 November 2006

As I did not leave until nearly 16:30 on Day 1 then it is only fair to include this afternoon in the complete 9 days.

I put up the CV flag and my yellow Q flag.  I don t actually have a Q flag, but I buy a pack of washing up cloths and save the yellow ones for this purpose, it did me in Gibraltar and the Canaries, I didn t need it in Madeira as I had come from Portugal.

I made a yorkshire pudding because otherwise I would be hungry just when I would have no time to eat.  All my bread and even pancakes I make with ½ plain and ½ wholemeal flour because it is supposedly good for me, but you don t mess with a yorkshire pudding. 

The wind was about 13 knots and the waves were right behind me, the course was good.  I was going to sail all the way to the anchorage, but I needed to get the genoa in and the wind suddenly went 20-26 knots.  My aim for a neatly rolled genoa was not achieved, I will have to take it out and furl it again.  Some of the sacrificial strip has some tears in the hem, I must check those.

I got into the anchorage and there were quite a lot of boats already there, so I am at the back in 7.5 metres.  I had just stopped and saw a guy on a body board paddling toward me, I wouldn t row the dinghy against this wind.  His name was Joseph and he was having a beer on the Dutch yacht next to me when I arrived, he said the weather just changed this afternoon.  The Dutch boat knew me from Las Palmas so he already knew that I was alone, no point denying that.  I have taken the Hydrovane sail in, but only locked the cockpit locker and taken my seat cushions inside.  I had to change the head on my Duogen from water, it had fishing rope round the head, but luckily it was not on the propeller.  I managed to put up the wind head, it is so high up to reach I had to climb on the top rail and hope, not to mention not lose a hand in the process.  The wind is 20 knots plus and I will not be running short of electricity.  I will put more chain out once I have checked it is holding ok.  

So what is Sal like?  Not what I would call a tropical island, a bit like Lanzarote s little brother.  But it is so nice to stop.  Tomorrow is Sunday so I do not have to worry about formalities until Monday.  I will get the dinghy out tomorrow and go visiting, there are a couple of other boats here that still have yellow Q flags up, perhaps we can form a delegation, or leave someone in charge of the boats as I think we may have to go to the airport for immigration.

That is it, 9 days, 798 nautical miles, not a piece of cake, but it was all on one bar of chocolate.