Gibraltar to Porto Santo
Wishanger2
Brian Bonniwell and Claudine
Sun 1 Nov 2015 16:23
| 33: 03.00N 16:17.00W We had a hard south westerly sail from Gibraltar to Porto Santo. Firstly we motored for a couple of days which didn’t please the sailors but then the wind did increase and gave us some good sailing for a while before strengthening and veering ‘onto the nose’. We were now sailing at 90 degrees to our intended course and the sea state was uncomfortable. It was grim (Claudine’s words) . Brian decided to ‘heave to’ to await a forecast wind shift. This is a heavy weather tactic whereby the boat is tacked without releasing the headsail sheet. The boat almost stops, riding the seas on the beam. This instantly gave us a much more comfortable motion and we managed to eat thanks to Sam and got some sleep. The wind changed after a cold front passed and we re-set sail in the right direction. The island of Porto Santo greeted us at dawn - a magnificent and unforgettable sight for the crew on watch. A full moon hung centrally over the distant mountains and sections of the feint coastline were highlighted by strings of sodium lights. We were so aw- struck that we didn’t think of getting the camera out! On arrival, we moored off the beach close to the harbour. A really picturesque setting, with warm and inviting water. However, after a couple of days this serenity changed and we moved into the harbour to shelter from a rough sea caused by the catabatic winds funnelling off the mountains. This is a really lovely island and we would recommend it to anyone. The facilities were good, free Wi-Fi was excellent at the marina café and the harbour master, staff and generally all of the people we met were really helpful and friendly. Claudine made frequent visits to the harbour office where in her characteristic way, she made ‘best’ friends with everyone. She was a regular user of their launderette, clearly becoming ‘one of the staff’ as demonstrated by the fact that on the Friday evening the regular staff left for the weekend leaving her locked in the premises! All the doors and windows were locked but fortunately she found one large roller shutter door which she could operate and make her escape – only to find that she was still locked within the fenced perimeter compound! All ended well after the skipper came to her rescue! We hired some scooters and a quad bike (for the seniors) to have a good look around the island. Great fun was had by all. The generator part we were awaiting arrived as planned and Brian and Ben used their engineering skills to complete the repair. We met four young Danish sailors set for the Canaries in a lovely 35ft traditional wooden ketch which had developed a water leak whilst enduring a bad storm after Lisbon. In the marina, they spent much of their time trying to control the leak by diving under the hull and pushing handfuls of sawdust into the suspected area but without success. Their engine driven bilge pump could control the flood and so they planned to have the boat lifted out when in the CanariesI . One evening we invited them on board for a drink, which was good fun. We hope to keep in touch as they are also crossing the Atlantic. After 10 days and a combined group effort leaving our picture painted on the harbour wall (Dick – next to yours of Moonshiner dating back 20 years to 1995), we sadly left this lovely Island and set sail towards Madeira. Brian, Claudine, Ben and Sam |