Gybe-oh

Stravaig'n the Blue
Tue 13 Oct 2020 09:41
Position: 41.24.94 N 011.47.67 W (130 NM west of Póvoa de Varzim which is 15 NM north of Porto)
Timestamp: Tuesday 13th October 2020  08:25 BST (UTC+1)

We’ve been threatening to gybe for a few days now and we finally got round to it at 08:25 this morning.

Just before sunset last night we furled the Furlstrøm and set the Solent just in case the wind got up overnight. Of course it didn’t. In fact it dropped to below 10 knots for a few hours around midnight so progress was slower than anticipated.

The wind also backed overnight so that by daybreak we were heading SW, out into the Atlantic rather than towards the Portuguese coast. In hindsight we should have gybed at about 02:00 but gybing in the dark when less than alert is best avoided where possible.

So we are now on port tack for the first time since leaving Guernsey and are tanking along at close to 9 knots in 20 knots of wind with the Solent furled, the Furlstrøm set and one reef in the main, heading for Peniche / Cabo da Roca. The sun has been out but currently there’s a drizzly squall going through.

All is well.

Allan