Depart mainland Portugal on 460NM passage to Port Santo
Shelena
Phil Scourfield
Fri 18 Sep 2015 00:29
18th September, 2015
Time to depart mainland Portugal, and indeed Europe. The forward weather
window looked good after several days of unsettled weather in Lagos.
Frequent checks indicated about 2.5 metre significant waves with wind mostly
to starboard, so a beam reach was in prospect then wind veering after 24
hours for a broad reach. That sounded ideal to me. This was to be a test of
how well we coped as a couple because we wanted to sail this passage
double-handed even though the distance was equivalent to the Bay of Biscay,
although in much warmer waters. Our departure was around 0730 after a good
night's sleep. Wind was light; too light dare I say. As we approached the
headland of Sao Vicente the winds picked up nicely and so main engine off
and sails up. We made excellent speed for hours and as darkness fell we had
passed the first 100Nm. We neither of us were feeling tired. Exhilarated by
the sail no doubt, but eventually tiredness kicked in and disappointingly
for us both Helen was feeling sick. The wind had started to go astern and
the yacht rolled as they do. Sea sickness tablets seem to work for a day or
so, then In H's case they seem no longer to be effective. Indeed, it was the
taking of the tablets that made her feel worse. Gold medal to whomever finds
a proper sea sickness preventative strategy. Helen finds it best to stay on
deck rather than go below to sleep in our cabin. However, one night of that
was probably enough not to want to repeat it. The sickness passed and Helen
took the watch from 0200 until 1600 when I had a glorious sleep in my cabin.
The swoosh of water is quite loud, so the answer is ear plugs. Perfect, and
sleeping soundly in seconds.
By next morning we had manged 209 Nautical miles. That was very satisfactory
since my bench mark for Shelena is 200 nautical miles per 24 hours. So
exceeding that by a decent margin was indeed sweet.
Preparing food under passage is hard work. The yacht is under constant
motion and even at nearly 30 tons Shelena gets pushed about by the waves
and swell. So meals are simple. Pre-cooked food is easily heated in the
microwave for dinner and lunch was ham, cheese and tomato rolls, which is as
much as we can muster. It all tasted good to me, and Helen managed to eat a
small portion of her meal and it stayed where it was supposed to. One thing
we do need, if it even exists, is a gimballed platform to place in the
microwave. With the yacht healed the micro is not level meaning that
potatoes that are supposed to rotate round in circles to cook end up at the
back of the micro slipping and sliding with the rotating dish unable to
grip.
Excitement at about 1000 on the third morning when dolphins , about 8,
decided to swim in our wake. They stayed for perhaps 10 minutes then left as
silently as they had appeared. However, it is these sightings that excite
interest and provide a welcome additional dynamic to sailing oceans. Four
hours later and its Land Ahoy! Porto Santo we have arrived. We want to see
where Christopher Columbus was supposed to have lived for a few years, and
discover the place where his wife originated.
