The Crew Speaks again
Yacht Ariel
Henry Adams
Fri 26 Oct 2007 15:57
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We're in Madeira, but very nearly weren''t. Ny
magnificently abled skipper, decided that we didn't need to consult the charts
for the 30-odd mile trip to our new marina on Madeira, and consequently
confidently set us a course for an island he could see and assumed was Madeira.
Only an hour into the trip did he realise (at the behest of the, once again,
remarkably alert crew) that there was a much bigger, more obvious island at
right angles to our course and we, therefater, had a wonderful sail accompanied
by some dolphins which seemed, in size, to be a throwback to the age of the
dinosaurs (i.e. they were massive). It took us about two hours less to reach our
destination than we had planned and, therefore, we were at leisure to enjoy a
couple of beers last night.
Henry started to feel the full force of the alcohol
after 30cl and so it was a rather mellow evening and we went to bed at about 11,
havinghad an interesting chat with two Norwegians, who subsequently lost our
power adapter, which we'd only borrowed that afternoon from the marina staff.
I'm all for leaving without telling them and seeing if they give chase (as
indeed they did yesterday to bring us in, after we hadn't replied to their
repeated calls, due to our radio being switched off) but Henry seems to be
considerably more honourable than I. We shall see whether good or evil wins out
in the next enthralling episode.
In other news we took possession of a Cehvrolet
Matiz this morning (our hire t car) and basically have the freedom of Madeira
for two days. We have obviously maximised the use of such a wonderful machine
and, having tested it to its limits this morning to get us into the capital,
Funchal, we intend to take it mountain climbing tomorrow to let it loose in its
natural habitat. We went to the botanic gardens this morning to collect a pass
(from the office) which allows access to some barren rocks in the middle of
the sea and had a poke around. very nice, as gardens go, and the views over
Funchal were awesome, but we both got a bit bored of plants after about half an
hour and decided to cleanse ourselves with a good old-fashioned McDonalds. Not
much else to report, other than the fact that it rained last night, which almost
made me cry and has led to me donning a long-sleeved top for the first time in
two weeks. Fortunately, however, it remains warm enough for me to wear shorts.
Oh and Madeira council have seen fit to install their Christmas lights already,
which just goes to show, it's not only UK councils that are
rubbish.
That's all for now,
The Faithful Crew
Foshy
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