position N16 53 160 W 24 59 500
Ocean Rival Journey Log
Adam Power Diana Power
Sun 12 Apr 2015 20:55
Now in Mindelo on Sau Vicente on a marina pontoon with electric and water(although water is extra).
Much the biggest town we have seen in Cape Verde with grand colonial buildings and lots of shops although not many open today (sunday).
Found a laundry and now have clean clothes drying in the wind. Mindelo has to be the windiest place on earth- most of the bays in Cape Verde appear to
attract wind rather than give shelter from it even though they are on the lee if the island. Quite hard work walking along the pontoon battling the gale.
I disobeyed the 1st rule of downwind sailing to my cost- never sail upwind. We left Palmeira on thursday morning and after short sail south
anchored in the Baia da Morderia for lunch and a swim. Then a reach overnight across to Tarrafal on Sau Nicolau. Genny one same side of main gave the
Aires too much work against weatherhelm so had to spend most of the night helping steer. Tarrafal is the exception to the windy bay rule and the anchorage was calm and peaceful.
We had a very pleasant day on Sau Nicolau- good tuna lunch then took a taxi bus up to a village in the hills- had a walk and then watched a very
skilful game of 5-a-side football while waiting for the bus back. As we were beginning to wonder if we were stranded a young man with guitar came and joined us and reassured us that one would come.
Sure enough a minibus arrived but after slowing and looking at us carried on without stopping. We could see activity a few hundred yards down the road so the guitar man suggested a walk
to investigate. Some sort of party or music event was gathering and several buses had stopped for the party but were clearly not going back to town. Diana mangaed to
collar a policemen who informed us that there would be no buses and no taxis but then hailed a pickup truck and in we jumped and sped back to Palmeira with a nice man
in the back who had been to Norwich and who's famly live in Holland but he lives in Palmeira because his legs can't manage the cold weather.
We left Tarrafal at 8.00 on saturday morning. Sailing under main only in the morning we anchored off Santa Lucia for lunch and a swim. Santa Lucia is uninhabited apart from some fishermen camped on the beac.
The Island looked inviting for a walk ashore but the schedule was now imposing some urgency so onward to Mindelo. This is the dreaded upwind leg that caused the probelems.
Under reefed main + 1/2 genny we were now close hauled into 25Kn of wind. The furling line (which I was due to renew) parted and now we had full genny out and were cleal
rly not going to fetch the point of Sau Vicente in one tack. Thinking I could re-attach the furling line and motor sail I struggled to knot the line, cut the line again and
re-route so that the knot didn't foul the guide pulleys, wind in the furling line with the winch only to be left with half the genny out and all the line in.
The result was lots of flogging and a ripped sail. My old Hood genoa has bee repaired several times now but this may be the last nail in its coffin- the UV strip
pretty much fully detatched. I was wet and exhausted so left iana to it and got into bed. She says wind reached 33Kn and waves were massice- her new worst day ever. Got into
Mindelo at 10pm and anchored in the bay to drop the gennys (hell of a struggle in viscous gusts with boat swinging
around on the anchor). Eventually got them under control and moved over to the yacht anchorage for a much needed bowl of chilly and rest overnight. Moved onto the pontoon in the morning and
that is where we now rest. Off now for supper in town.7