Back into the sun again

Kingfisher 2013
Peter Smith
Sun 1 Dec 2013 18:11
Early evening 1st December - Another night of heavy rain and variable wind. We set sail configurations that worked brilliantly - for 30 mins to an hour; then changed them - for a couple of hours; then furled everything and ran the donkey; then back to the beginning again. Not the doldrums but a similar effect on sailing morale. We overtook a yacht and got overtaken in turn (I would like it known that the one that overtook us was 151ft super yacht!) Two sightings in 48 hours, both sailing yachts heading for San Vincent, probably to re-fuel, certainly doing the Atlantic crossing. We do not have the monopoly on this cunning plan…. As the super yacht came past (she was called Pink Gin, by the way) we hailed her on the VHF to ask for the number of the Marina Mindelo (where we are headed). This they kindly gave us and we have established communication with a very helpful lady in the office there. The marina is full but boats are leaving every hour so she is sure we will get a berth within a few hours of anchoring off.

The great news is that we are out of the rain belt. The sky is clear and we are starting to get the weather we have all been waiting for - with the exception of the wind, of course. The latest forecast says that the trades will be filling in from Wed, Thurs onwards a day or two to the West of Cape the Verdes. So the plan now is to spend Mon night, Tues and Wed morning in Saint Vincent and head out again midday on Wednesday.

Best pic of the day - no contest really:

image/jpg