34 42.62 N 033 09.83E
Yachtforeverfreedom
Fri 6 Nov 2009 15:55
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Well, huge change of plan. We have
abandoned the Rally and are making our way back to Alanya in Turkey. We
departed Larnaca at about 0800 today (Friday 6th November), along with the other
seven boats. The voyage started favourably with a moderate wind from
astern over the Starboard Quarter but, as usual, it soon built to a solid
Force 5 and it was necessary to put 2 reefs in the Mainsail - not easy when you
do not have roller-reefing. After about 2 hours, Pauline said that she had
been unwell for 2 days because of the stress of getting the boat ready after all
the damage and was deeply apprehensive about the long passage to Port Said - 245
nautical miles and 48 hours; it was not just the voyage but, also, the
realisation that once through the Suez Canal we would be quite cut-off from an
easy return to UK and family. We are now anchored just to the West of our
old marina - St. Raphael and will spend the night here before going towards
Paphos. Much depends on the weather which has been terrible for the past
week. Dino has been on the phone checking on our progress and has agreed
to give us a weather forecast for tomorrow. Also, Ann and John off the MY
Miss Maro (where Peter convalesced last year) have agreed to do the same.
Of course, because we had cleared-out from Customs in Larnaca to go to Port
Said, the Cyprus Authorities contacted us through the marina (who have our
mobile number) to find out what we were doing and were we going to Port Said
tomorrow. As we are not, they want us to go into Paphos to have our
clearance papers changed. Peter is stressed by all the things which keep
going wrong with the various bits of the boat - even simple things can become
sick-making and difficult to fix when the boat is always being pushed about by
the wind and waves. I think we have both come to realize that, with our
limited experience, the Vasco da Gama Rally was a step too far. All of the
other partipants had many more years, and miles, sailing experience - all
have been sailing for a minimum 20 years and have over 20,000 miles
experience; additionally, we were the smallest boaat in the fleet. We
really shall miss the rally people. They were all so friendly and
helpful. __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4486 (20091007) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4486 (20091007) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com |