Moonstruck III heads west
Moonstruck III
Gordon Lawson
Fri 29 Oct 2021 14:46
We left Arklow yesterday just after 1200, delayed by 3 hours by torrential rain. Leaving the berth rafted to a catamaran was quite tricky. We were nose into a 2kt current, having to run aft between other yachts for a period before we had enough depth to turn the boat. With Steve’s help and guidance plus the use of some fenders we managed to get out.
The wind had died off a bit down to around 20kts as we headed west. Sea state was still a bit rough but undaunted and looked after by our Rustler 44DS we plunged onwards.
It being naked Thursday we all started the day in our birthday suits, only Ian being brave enough to have his photograph taken. Sense prevailed and brought on by a chilly breeze we all dressed for sailing.
Lunch was grilled halloumi wraps filled with salad and chilli sauce. Very tasty. Evening meal was Lamb Saag cooked by Annette. Very tasty also but unfortunately due to the sea state one of our crew members looked as about as green as the saag in the dish.
This didn’t prevent them from doing their watch albeit from a prone position in the saloon with their eyes closed much of the time.
Todays Helm Hallucinations involved Steve seeing a white flying fish approximately 1.4m in length, probably a small great white he reckons. Ian also got very excited by seeing a helicopter hovering in the distance around 0200 thinking it might try and use our boat as a training exercise. Alas it disappeared into the distance without flying over us.
It appears we will have a weather window to make the dash southwards towards Vigo later today . No land in sight for 4 or 5 days will be an interesting challenge but one we are all relishing.
Fair winds and calm seas
Gordon