Friday 20th August
1000knights
Fri 20 Aug 2010 13:39
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Friday 20th August
I guess you have been thinking that we are battling it out
on the high seas as real sailors should. In fact this morning we have
come inland up the River Dart and picked up a visitor buoy for the
day/night at Dittisham. We are hoping for less than Force
7 tomorrow. After two days of 6 and 7's often on the nose, it was
some shakedown cruise, we were quite tired. Thousand Knights has been
doing 8-9 knots, even 9.6kn, through the water at times as we cracked along
in 20+ S and SW winds from Poole to Dartmouth. I thought that all the
weight on board would slow us down, must be the increased waterline, we are now
a longer boat!. My crew have been great, Skipper being the first, and so
far only one, to throw up just off Dartmouth. I won't say we have been
fighting to take the helm but there has been no shortage of keen crew to helm in
the exciting seas. We had hoped to reach Falmouth by lunchtime today to be
lifted into the slings and the fridge replaced but we decided to put into
Dartmouth rather than do our first night sail in these
conditions. The lift out has now been rearranged for Monday
afternoon by Nick Dalton, many thanks indeed for sorting this all out for
us. The reality is that the weather was going to hold us up
anyway. If we can set off on Tuesday we might still make La Corunna
by 27/28th. Last night Robert showed us his culinary skills with
sausages which went down very well at the end of the day. Anthony has
got his radio shack up to speed in ways that remain a mystery to me, except
he thinks I have lost and I think he has lost an essential piece of kit for the
SSB! But actually it is icing on the cake and not so important.
Tom nearly had an orgasm (he is still young) when the Red Arrows went
over twice off Dartmouth but he is till going to join the Army. I don't
think he is going to join the Navy. So with this enforced rest
day we have been doing our ' pre-departure' briefings, familiarising everyone
with the stores and ins and outs of the boat and trying to dry out cushions
soaked by the water ingress through the forehatch. Hopefully we have cured
that, not that anyone will be able to open the hatch ever again.
Spirits are good and with any luck we will have all found our sea legs before we
depart Falmouth for La Corunna.
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