Porto Santo anchorage position: 33:03.594N
016:19.332W
12 October 2010, 0600 hrs
Well, we have arrived, but not in
Madeira! Yesterday, I told you that my
ultra-sophisticated Whispergen generator had packed up so for that and other
reasons we decided to anchor off Porto Santo about 30 miles from Madeira. A
spectacular landfall, Porto Santo is a tiny volcanic island almost as high as it
is wide. We arrived in the anchorage about 1730 yesterday afternoon, having
sailed the entire way for almost exactly three days covering a little under 460
miles.
Arriving at Porto Santo after three days and nights
sailing
There were three other boats in the anchorage, two of
which had been in the Sopromar yard with me in Lagos, so fixing the generator
had to take second place to drinks with new friends Brian and Sandy who rowed
over to greet us.
With the socialising over, I sent a briefing email to the
technician who had serviced the Whispergen last week but given it was Sunday it
was hardly surprising I couldn’t raise him on his mobile. Instead, I contacted
the Whipergen headquarters in New
Zealand who immediately responded by phoning me
and talking me through the problem, identifying the likely source and fixing it.
It seems that a cable may not have been properly plugged in. A test run and
bingo, it looks like we are back in action again! I cannot tell you what a
relief this is as the prospect of having to run the noisy main engine for 5
hours every day for the next six months didn’t bear thinking about. Anyway, I’ll
be testing the Whispergen over the next few days to make sure we have got rid of
the gremlins before we head off to places where communication ain’t so
good.
After a pretty rolly night in the anchorage, we are just
about to head off for the remaining 30 miles to
Madeira.
