Max spends his longest time at sea yet

Lady Stardust Faro-Portugal to Barcelona - 2010
Paul Collister
Sun 27 Aug 2006 15:14
Day 186........if I'd known it would take this long to get to Madeira by boat I'd have walked! We have already had to sacrifice three of the more opulent members of the crew, so that the rest of us can survive another week or so. My daily exercise routine has now stepped up from 1000 to 1500 hundred situps, if I catch anyone looking at me in that way, I think I'll also include press-ups, but already there's not an inch of flesh left on me.
 
But in all seriousness.....it was a fantastic trip from the bottom of Portugal to the Archipelago of Madeira, with every thing you could ask for. Dolphins, sharks, turtles, mermaids and even a brontosaurus! We had good weather to start with & it was quite calm but by the evening the first day, the wind was up to 32 knots and we had 3 metere waves crashing into the starboard beam. But that was nothing compared to the utter panic of the windvane breaking and the immediate prospect that there were holes in the boat below the waterline and that we might have to abandon the boat for a liferaft. It didn't turn out to be so bad in the end, but we did have to steer the boat by hand for the last 30 hours, or so. Keeps you on your toes.
 
Now were in Madeira, it has all been definitely more than worth it & I am really looking forward to the next (shorter) leg to the Canaries. I'm off now for a swim with Aqua Marina, my new friend from the world of the Merpeople