First Night Out
Moonshine
Mon 27 Nov 2006 03:02
The sight at the start was fantastic. The exit from the marina was so congested with boats leaving, that Alun and Dave were stationed up at the bow with fenders to fend off the crush of boats leaving. The colours, and the excitement, with hundreds of people waving from the shore, helicopters overhead, foghorns blasting, and all on a clear sunny day. Wow.
There was an overwhelming feeling of freedom on getting out to sea after the crush of boats in the marina. we were all very dry mouthed!
The racing division left first, at 12.40p.m. These were the leopards of the sea. Beautiful, sleek, no expense spared racing machines for whom this event is just a way of getting to the racing season in the Carribean.
Our start was at 1p.m.
At 12.55, we hoisted our cruising shute. I had it made specially for the event. It is jet black, with, of course the white cross. The biggest Cornish flag you ever saw. We went across the start line with just that sail - emotional! - we plan on cossing the finish line that way too.
The next few hours were disappointing for us as we could not get the boat up to speed, but that has changed now. We have been running through the night making the best of the light, but gusty winds. Some boats have had problems with the gusty conditions and have suffered some damage, but nothing that can't be sorted when morning comes.
We have again fallen in love with our combination of twin headsails boomed out with poles, and our windvane steering gear.
The combination of the two means that we can carry more sail in the dark than we would dare otherwise. The windvane can steer a better course than we could in the dark, can move the wheel more quickly, and of course does not get tired or lose concentration. The icing on the cake is that the windvane was also made in Cornwall - by Hydra Southwest at Indian Queens.
This really is a Cornish boat!
At present there are only about ten boats in sight to us, out of the 225 on the start line. They will be gone by the morning and sighting a boat will become an event. It then gets quite lonely for 2900 miles. The reason is that our limit of visibility is only about 5 miles, and everyone makes their own course. They are there somewhere - just can't see them!
Give our regards to everyone,
Rod, Dave, and Alun. S.Y. Moonshine
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.782 / Virus Database: 528 - Release Date: 22/10/2004