Day 10/11
Ariana
Sat 30 May 2009 10:17
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Day 10/11
Apologies for late posting of yesterday's blog. We were kind of
busy....
The local who warned of gales around Cape St
Vincent in the afternoons was wrong....it's in the morning, it starts 5 miles
before the Cape, and we were caught in it!. From sitting enjoying breakfast
in the cockpit in a nice F3 and a choppy sea, we felt what we thought was a
squall so eased the main and reefed the genoa. After about a
minute it still wasn't calming down, and in the time it took us to dive below,
fit lifejackets and safety lines and get back on deck, it was a full severe gale
F9 and green water breaking over us.
We managed to head into wind to reef the genoa
a bit more and get 2 reefs in the main. After that it was a case of just
keeping the boat on its heading and trying to keep the ciggies dry.
Claus and Phil who had been on deck
in shorts and t-shirt all this time went below to change while Andreas and Tony
managed the helm. During all this it was still a clear blue sky! Once we
were settled, Ariana sailed beautifully, even in 8m swells, and after 4 hours to
get round the Cape the wind dropped to a balmy F6 and we arrived in Lagos marina
around 6pm. It took a while to sort out the boat, pumping bilges and retrieving
scattered items of clothing and equipment, but with the call of Happy Hour at
the bar it was done in record time. Phil damaged his ankle stepping ashore with
a mooring line (honest!) but the crew fashioned a crutch from a
floor broom, towel and sail-tie and we headed into town for a
meal and ended with a karaoke session....which is on video.
Today (day 11) once we've put Joss on the train we're sailing the last
60 miles to Vilamoura. Here's hoping for an uneventful passage!
The crew
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