Our first force 9 gale.

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Thu 25 Jun 2009 19:12
40:31.1N 27:44.8E

Thursday 25th June
I was sort of wondering what I was going to write about today as we planned
a very short trip to a nice looking bay we saw yesterday, but the eagle eyed
amongst you will have noticed that the co-ordinates mean that we are
anchored tonight very close to where we were last night, but rather a lot
happened in between!

Woke up last night to gusts of 20+ knots from the west and a loud clunk and
lurch that is symptomatic of the anchor breaking free, but it turned out to
be the anchor resetting itself to the new wind direction and the extra pull.
Not too convinced about our position here so close to the beach and other
obstructions, so I undertook the first stint of an anchor watch, but within
an hour it was clear that the wind was dying away and there was no further
problem.

Woke to a flat calm and so had a lazy start as we planned to sail to a bay
that was just 9 miles away. Got off around 11.45am and after a quick recce
of the next bay along (for our return trip in a few weeks time) we hoisted
the sails and I was allowed to helm for the next few hours during which the
wind did at one stage reach a heady 5.5 knots but which left us pretty much
stationary as we have not got our genoa rigged. We both had swims off the
back as things were so quiet, despite the proximity of the jellyfish.
Gradually we crept towards our destination and then around 4.30pm we agreed
that we needed to get on with things as the clouds that had suddenly formed
above us did not look at all friendly. We dropped the sails and recovered
the fishing tackle and started to motor when suddenly the mother of
thunderstorms struck almost out of the blue. The wind rose rapidly to 25
knots and the seas quickly built to produce steep, decidedly unpleasant
waves. The gusts then increased and the wind gauge started to register a
steady 35 knots at which point things began to get very messy. The waves
increased further and our main hope now was a bay under some cliffs on an
island ahead of us that was directly upwind offering us a target to head for
in order to hopefully get some protection in its lee. The wind increased
still further and at this point the lightening started all around us,
followed by thunderclaps. The rain when it came was unbelievably heavy and
now with the wind registering 40+ knots and the gusts topping out at 50
knots, it was at times more than we could do to keep Serafina on course and
several times she slewed round in the wind trying to go broadside to the
waves. I was now wearing the lightweight jacket we bought last winter for
rain on hot days and I can tell you that it is pretty bloody useless in a
force 9 gale at protecting you! The rain lashed like hail and it was all
very cold and very painful, but our attention was focussed on trying to make
way into the bay ahead of us, but not run into the rocks on two headlands in
the process and keeping an eye on a small motor cruiser that we had watched
head for the same bay as us, but that had vanished into the rapidly
diminishing visibility.

Then as we emerged into the flat waters of the bay under the protection of
the cliffs, it started to ease and eventually we gratefully dropped the
anchor to wait things out and take stock of the situation. The motor cruiser
(an elderly British craft) had also anchored nearby and they were busy
recovering their dinghy which had turned upside down (they were towing it)
as they had run for shelter. The rain stopped and the wind dropped down and
I got changed into dry clothes and had a cup of cocoa. Hard to believe I
could be so cold in June in Turkey! We then saw a lone individual walking
along the cliff tops, which is unlikely at the best of times as this is an
uninhabited island, but through the binoculars we could see that he was
dressed in a wetsuit and was carrying huge flippers and was barefoot. There
are no paths and he was just walking in a fairly determined fashion across
the rough terrain, high above us. We assume that he had either lost his boat
in the storm or had been trapped at the far end of the island whilst diving,
either way he showed no interest in us anchored in the bay and so we watched
him struggling on heading away from us, before we resolved that we could not
stay the night here as it was not a safe place to be as it was open on three
sides to the open sea and upped anchor and returned to the bay where we had
stayed last night.

Made good time downwind and were pleased to find that the big swell was not
too bad in here, so on the third attempt we got the anchor to dig in and
settled down to hopefully a quiet night after a stiff drink (or two?).
Planned trip today was 9 miles, actual mileage today was 27 miles and we
never quite made it to our destination either.

Ever the one to spot an upside, Sarah was thrilled to discover that the
incredible lashing that we took from the rain at up to 50 knots has cleaned
Serafina beautifully, a thorough pressure wash leaving everything gleaming.
The only known casualty so far was the nearly brand new Turkish courtesy
flag which clearly did not enjoy the high winds and has been shredded!