BlueSkyNick
Well-Known Member
This year\'s weather - how lucky am I?
Spread from early May to last week, we were at sea for 16 days covering approximately 1600 miles from Almerimar to Lymington.
We passed through some of the most notorious places in Western Europe, such as:
- Gibraltar Straits, including Tarifa - 5knots of wind, motoring.
- Cap Trafalgar, still motoring, dipped our ensign and drank a toast to Horatio - "because we could". Later motored to Lagos, Portugal
- Cleared Cap Sao Vincente, the most SW tip of Iberia - motoring in no wind, just gentle swells.
- Finally had a moderate breeze to enable us to sail up the Tagus under Lisbon's big bridge.
- One bad bit - had to abort turning the corner round the cape west of Cascais whose name now slips my mind. Went back two days later and it was fine.
- Motored in light airs and calm seas up the west coast of Portugal where the Northerlies normally blow during the day, to Bayonna.
- Cap Finisterre - NW tip of Iberia, always windy and rough - 5knots of wind, glassy sea (but only 1mile of vis) to La Corunna.
- Crossed Biscay to Belle Ile, F4/5/6 NW backed to SW, one long tack the whole way - fantastic sail! Bilbo said some people would bite my arm off for these conditions.
- Vannes to Loctudy, boring motoring, calm sea.
- Loctudy to L'Aberwrach, F4/5 SW through the Raz de Sein, Chenal du Four and calm seas off the NW tip of France.
- L'Aberwrach to Weymouth F4/5 SW but bumpy and yucky in the channel after the previous day's 6/7's.
- Weymouth to Lymington passing one mile off StAlbans - flat calm.
In all this way, it rained for total of about 3 hours while we were at sea.
OK so we motored a hell of lot, but when all we wanted were miles under the keel to stick to the plan, arriving 24hours early at the final destination is good enough for me!
Spread from early May to last week, we were at sea for 16 days covering approximately 1600 miles from Almerimar to Lymington.
We passed through some of the most notorious places in Western Europe, such as:
- Gibraltar Straits, including Tarifa - 5knots of wind, motoring.
- Cap Trafalgar, still motoring, dipped our ensign and drank a toast to Horatio - "because we could". Later motored to Lagos, Portugal
- Cleared Cap Sao Vincente, the most SW tip of Iberia - motoring in no wind, just gentle swells.
- Finally had a moderate breeze to enable us to sail up the Tagus under Lisbon's big bridge.
- One bad bit - had to abort turning the corner round the cape west of Cascais whose name now slips my mind. Went back two days later and it was fine.
- Motored in light airs and calm seas up the west coast of Portugal where the Northerlies normally blow during the day, to Bayonna.
- Cap Finisterre - NW tip of Iberia, always windy and rough - 5knots of wind, glassy sea (but only 1mile of vis) to La Corunna.
- Crossed Biscay to Belle Ile, F4/5/6 NW backed to SW, one long tack the whole way - fantastic sail! Bilbo said some people would bite my arm off for these conditions.
- Vannes to Loctudy, boring motoring, calm sea.
- Loctudy to L'Aberwrach, F4/5 SW through the Raz de Sein, Chenal du Four and calm seas off the NW tip of France.
- L'Aberwrach to Weymouth F4/5 SW but bumpy and yucky in the channel after the previous day's 6/7's.
- Weymouth to Lymington passing one mile off StAlbans - flat calm.
In all this way, it rained for total of about 3 hours while we were at sea.
OK so we motored a hell of lot, but when all we wanted were miles under the keel to stick to the plan, arriving 24hours early at the final destination is good enough for me!
