Leg 3: Las Palmas to the Half Way Mark
Kasuje
Stephen Rodwell
Sat 8 Dec 2007 17:57
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Las Palmas to St Lucia; Saturday 6th
December 2007 Current Position: 18 19N; 40 58W
We are at present in the middle of the Atlantic
swell! We have just passed the half way point, and are heading nicely for St
Lucia.
We left Las Palmas on Tuesday 27th November after
first completing necessary repairs to the
forestay. We motored out in the boat to watch the ARC fleet leave on Sunday
25th, serenaded by a local Spanish bullfight band, and returned to port
with a tinge of sadness at being left behind. Suddenly, it was quiet in the
marina, all the mayhem and frenetic activity of the previous few days gone: the
ARC flags were swiftly taken down, the ARC shop closed and just a pile of
discarded El Corte Ingles boxes remained as evidence that 250 boats and their
crews had been, had shopped and were gone.
So final provisions were made, the water tank
filled up, the rigging replaced, final 'phone calls to home, and we were on
our way. Several sources from Hallberg Rassy and ARC had advised us to sail with
twin genoas poled out, the storm sail set as a stay sail and no or little
main sail and we set this up before we departed. It took a bit of heaving to
grind two genoas up the forestay. At first we encountered very light winds and
were not all that impressed by our rig. We had to motor for the best part of 2
days to try to catch up with the rest of the fleet.
We had heard reports of open boats from Somalia
taking young male refugees to Gran Canaria. If landed successfully, they have
the right to be transferred to mainland Spain; if apprehended en route, they
could be turned back. We spotted and reported an open boat that seemed to be
empty and drifting. We were going to investigate but the engine refused to
start! The first of the at-sea-repairs began! Bruce and Steve investigated each
step in the process, found and repaired the problem. Meanwhile ARC sent reports
of a yacht being boarded by refugees the previous day; this made us a
little nervous and anxious to be far west of the trouble zone. While Bruce and
Val were on watch, the winds blew up, the twin genoas rose to the occasion and
we shot out of there like a bat out of hell, until Steve flew out of bed and
came on deck to reduce sail! We have since been quite impressed by the rig,
although we would look ridiculous in The Solent! It considerably reduces the
chance of broaching without a mainsail, is easy to bring in or let out and
reduces rolling - in theory, at least, as we are currently in quite a large
swell and 'rolly' is an unavoidable fact of life!
We had some beautiful days' sailing; Steve fishing
(sunbathing?) on the stern, the sea becoming increasingly blue, with white
foaming waves crashing to leave a turquoise glimmer on the surface, dolphins,
flying fish and a night sky to keep Patrick Moore busy for
hours. Looking at the milky way through binoculars reveals billions of
stars!
For the past few days we have encountered large
swell (20 foot) which has made everything that little bit harder to
do....cooking, eating, showering, sleeping while permanently rolling and
lurching! We are now in an area of squally rain and thunderstorms, which
momentarily brings strong winds. So far, we have found the twin genoa
arrangement forgiving and easy to adjust even single handed. The water maker has packed up, as they do, and Steve and Bruce
are deep in repairs and technical discussion. We have enough drinking water to
last to St Lucia so if they can't fix it, we will simply smell! We have eaten
well, due to Angela's victualling skills and a good supply of quality meat and
vegetables from Las Palmas, together with an efficient fridge and freezer on
board.
We will update this blog again in St Lucia, and
post some photos. Apologies to those who have visited this site in the last 10
days and who thought we must still be in Las Palmas! We have been sending
regular reports to ARC Control, which you will find on www.worldcruising.com
With love and best wishes to all, Steve, Bruce,
Angela and Val
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