Crossing Biscay (part 2)
Lady Stardust Faro-Portugal to Barcelona - 2010
Paul Collister
Fri 7 Aug 2009 19:17
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POS 38:41.45N 9:25.18W
Friday 31st July
The wind changed direction during the
night and we now have to tack (zigzag) our way down the coast because
with the wind coming straight at us we have to manoeuvre the boat to turn
away from it so that the sails can fill. Progress will be slower and due to the
way the sails were set on my watch we were leaning heavily on the starboard
side while the waves threw us around and crashed into the cockpit. In
these conditions immense effort is needed to do even the simplest tasks
such as putting on clothes because one hand has to grab poles and bars to keep
balanced and upright. Paul recommended that I stay below and check
outside every half hour for other boats. We have to clip on to a
harness attached to a steel structure when we go in the cockpit in rough
seas to ensure we remain attached to the boat if a wave knocks us overboard and
it was quite tricky to climb the steps and clip the harness on when forces are
pushing you first one way then the other. Once outside, however, it wasn't
too bad. The wind was strong but not freezing and I stood watching the progress
of a couple of fishing boats for a while before going back down to read more of
the excellent book Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.
Four hours later I was ready for a rest and had become concerned about the
battering that the bow of the boat was getting when the waves threw her
down into the water - the noise was akin to cannon fire - but Paul assured me it
was ok and that she could withstand much worse conditions than
these.
Today continued much like the night: waves
crash over the side and pitch and toss us around, creating a feeling a
bit like being on an out of control bumper car. We've not been able
to do much except sleep and I'm still doing plenty of that (inbetween
reading). Paul chats to our friend Neil in Birkenhead on the amateur radio
twice a day and it's always good to hear his news and relate our
progress and position to him - a great way of breaking up the day,
too. We managed to eat some crackers, fruit and a slice of bread
and cheese during the day and at 10pm I heated up some pasties
and beans to set us up for the chilly night watches.
Saturday 1st August
My reading material for last night's
watches was Haunted Liverpool, a collection of true ghost
stories relating the supernatural experiences of the people of Liverpool
over several decades. I read about a ghostly flying nun who foiled two
robbers in Mount Vernon St, a Lime Street spectre who named herself after the
station clock and a timeslip experience in a city centre shop - ideal stuff for
stepping out into the darkness where eerie noises can be heard and poor
visibility makes you imagine things that aren't there. No ghost ships made
an appearance, however and during the 4-8 watch the sea calmed down
considerably, the temperature grew warmer and the clouds cleared. The only
drawback was the constant battle to keep Harriet on course. Despite
Paul's patient and explicit instructions on how to control her strings I
struggled to get the balance exactly right but somehow managed to prevent
us going too far off course. By the time Paul got up at 9, the sun was
shining and we had coffee in the cockpit while he once again explained
where I go wrong with Harriet!!
Today has been lovely. We've both lost the
lethargy we've been plagued with since the start of the trip and have been able
to get on with jobs such as drying out damp bedding and clothes and
cleaning the cabin and ourselves now that walking is easier. I was also
able to cook us a slap up breakfast/lunch at 1pm of quorn sausages, eggs, (bacon
for Paul) mushrooms and toast. Instead of coffee or juice, though we
had a glass of red wine each to celebrate feeling better. The afternoon
was spent basking in the sun sorting out some code flags which had got
wet in one of the lockers and doing other minor repair jobs.
We're near the Portuguese shipping lane now so more boats are
around, and the radio kept warning that ammunition testing would be carried
out nearby but thankfully we didn't hear or see anything. By early evening
it had got cooler and we moved into the cabin, listening to The Beatles while I
cooked the remaining veggie pies, new potatoes and carrots. We ate this
while watching the sun go down on one side and the moon rise on the
other.
Sunday 2nd August
Bright moonlight lit up the sea for the first hour
of my midnight-4am watch, its light created a comforting glowing path on the
port side of the boat and made it much easier to gauge the distances of other
boats. By 1am the wind speed had dropped considerably causing the
sails to flap and bang and Harriet to go on strike. Consequently our speed
dropped to 2.5 knots and we began to go off course. Aiming curses at
Harriet that any mariner would be proud of, I had to resort to waking Paul up to
come and sort it all out. Just as he was calmly pointing out that as a
wind vane, Harriet needs wind to operate efficiently the wind returned and made
me look as if I'd acted too hastily or panicked unnecessarily. Anyway Paul
decided to let Simon take over the steering (probably feeling that he would be
more likely to get some uninterrupted sleep that way). Once that was set
up and the sails were happy again I spent a fairly uneventful watch reading more
ghost stories in the cabin and popping up every 15 minutes for lookouts. I
let Paul sleep until 5 30 to make up for the earlier disturbance and then slept
until 10. Paul made us a cafetiere of lovely coffee which we drank while
Bizet's Carmen blasted through the cabin.
The weather isn't doing what we'd hoped. Not
only has the day been chilly and overcast, the sea is getting rougher and the
change in wind direction will add hours to our journey due to the tacking.
On a brighter note, while Paul was talking to Neil this morning, dolphins came
to visit! They leapt and swam and played on both sides of the boat and
gave us a great show. More came in
the afternoon and Paul managed to get some good shots of them. More
reading and lazing around today - no sun unfortunately. We're 40 miles off
the coast of Spain and should see land soon. Biscay has been crossed
safely and we're looking forward to relaxing in Camarinas
tomorrow.
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