50:45.97N 01:17.94W

We waited a few hours for the wind to build to the north of Horta before we set off and then Galatea and Infinity slipped lines and motored out, north of Sao Jorge and east of Graciosa.  Our next sighting of land should be England!  By now we were ready to get home and enjoy the things we had missed over the past eight months but first we would get to experience our last piece of the Atlantic ocean and whatever weather it threw at us.  Of course, we were expecting some nice south-westerlies to run home with but for once, what Ed called the “Infinity magic carpet” of good passage weather seemed a bit threadbare.  The depression north west of Ireland defied all the forecasts and dived south across our path.  That gave us some strong headwinds for the middle part of the passage.  We detoured north to reduce the impact and we were glad we did.  Galatea had a tough time further south.  It was a rather uncomfortable couple of days with a lot of slamming, even with the wind on the beam, a fully-reefed mainsail and a half-reefed jib. 

One morning Jane was ready to bake the sourdough but couldn’t open the pan drawer to get the baking tin.  The pan drawer was stuck shut, probably with a pan handle jammed in it.  Crisis!  All the pans we’d need for cooking were also in there.  After trying various methods of jiggling and poking it, we thought we might clear it by tacking.  It worked!  Crisis averted and no need to put out a pan-pan call!

As the wind died down we were able to shake out some reefs but half way through a reef change we saw a rip starting to appear just below the third reef tack cringle.  We quickly reverted to three reefs to take the load out of it.  Shortly after that however, another rip opened up just forward of the reinforcing around the third reef clew and that meant we had to drop the mainsail altogether.  We then wondered whether we could trust the jib not to split, as it’s the same age.  So we left it half-reefed.  We were still some 400 miles from land, Brest being the closest major port, which meant we couldn’t motor all the way there.  So we sailed slowly for the best part of a day, thinking coffee and croissants at a café in Brest would be suitable compensation for the detour for more fuel.  We had just reached the point where we could probably motor all the way to Brest if we had to, and so started to do so, when the cavalry arrived.  Galatea (Andrew, Muriel and Anthony) had dug themselves out of the nasty weather further south and converged with our course, offering a couple of jerry cans of diesel. 

Using a fender and some floating line, we easily managed the transfer and suddenly things were looking up.  Now confident that we could motor all the way, we rolled out the rest of the jib.  A few hours later, when the wind had dropped and the sail repair had finished curing, we risked hoisting the mainsail and it seemed the repair might have been successful.  If you look closely at the photo below, you might just be able to see where we repaired it. 

Well, if you’re laughing now, I suggest you try it in the middle of the Atlantic, with the boat rolling around and throwing you off balance, the wind blowing your materials everywhere, trying to paste patches onto a sail that doesn’t want to be flaked over the boom!

Back to full sail again and things were looking up.  With south-westerlies finally coming, we crossed our fingers that the sails might hold out all the way to Cowes.  Counting down the hours now until we arrive, there’s still time to enjoy another sunset, this one on the longest day of the year:

As we skirted around the traffic separation scheme off Ushant, the sea became much more crowded than we had been used to for many months.  Welcome back to the English Channel!  Most of the ships kept to their lanes but one seemed to be bucking the trend.  Then it called us on Ch 16.  “Infinity of Yar this is USS Wasp, please pass port-to-port”.  Wasp is a US Navy aircraft-carrier assault ship, weighting forty thousand tons and doing 18 knots.  I didn’t argue.

Passing the mid-Channel TSS and with the wind dropping, we were finally able to hoist the

sunburned Mexican (our gennaker).  More than nine days into a passage that should have given us more following winds, it was finally up.  Well, for ten minutes it was.  Running downwind in 15kts of breeze, its heart beat for the last time and it split.  That’s all four sails we have broken on this trip!  Time to break open the piggy bank and buy some new ones.  The one compensation is that we now know we’ve had our money’s worth out of the mainsail, jib and spinnaker!  As we keep being reminded, it’s not money, just “boat units”.

Jane decided that to compensate for the lack of spinnaker, we should have a dinner party.  With Kim’s help, they served an artichoke & parmesan dip, washed down with champagne, then some rump steaks from Sao Jorge with a French red, and finished with a home-made tiramisu.  That just underlined the quality of catering that everyone so much enjoyed on this trip. 

While we still haven’t landed an edible fish since leaving Las Palmas and we haven’t seen any large whales close-up, we have really enjoyed the company of many dolphins on this leg.  We never tire of watching them play with the boat.

Portland Bill was our first sight of land after the Azores.  Really weird seeing the classic landmarks after so many months in foreign waters.  Ahead of us, Ed on Telemachus was also headed for Cowes and we managed to catch up with him and have a VHF chat.  Surprisingly, two more friends called us on Ch 16 as we came within range, one on a boat just behind us returning from Guernsey and another on a boat overnighting in Yarmouth.  It’s a small world in one sense, but the ten thousand miles we’ve covered have made it seem like a very big world.  We have so much enjoyed the last year.  Such a big project, such a lifestyle change and so many fond memories.  Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to that amazing year.

We arrived on the dock in Cowes at 2330 to a rousing “three cheers” from friends and family.  Lovely of you all to join us at the end of our journey.

Infinity out.

Giles