Max spends his longest time at sea yet
Lady Stardust Faro-Portugal to Barcelona - 2010
Paul Collister
Sun 27 Aug 2006 15:14
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Day 186........if I'd known it would take this long
to get to Madeira by boat I'd have walked! We have already had to sacrifice
three of the more opulent members of the crew, so that the rest of us can
survive another week or so. My daily exercise routine has now stepped up from
1000 to 1500 hundred situps, if I catch anyone looking at me in that
way, I think I'll also include press-ups, but already there's not an inch of
flesh left on me.
But in all seriousness.....it was a fantastic trip
from the bottom of Portugal to the Archipelago of Madeira, with every thing you
could ask for. Dolphins, sharks, turtles, mermaids and even a brontosaurus! We
had good weather to start with & it was quite calm but by the evening the
first day, the wind was up to 32 knots and we had 3 metere waves crashing into
the starboard beam. But that was nothing compared to the utter panic of the
windvane breaking and the immediate prospect that there were holes in the boat
below the waterline and that we might have to abandon the boat for a liferaft.
It didn't turn out to be so bad in the end, but we did have to steer the boat by
hand for the last 30 hours, or so. Keeps you on your toes.
Now were in Madeira, it has all been definitely
more than worth it & I am really looking forward to the next (shorter) leg
to the Canaries. I'm off now for a swim with Aqua Marina, my new friend
from the world of the Merpeople
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