castaway
New member
........have I used up all my 2005 allowance of downwind sailing already?
What do you think?
Due to a rush of blood to the brain and having a bit of spare time I had signed up to be 3rd crew on a delivery trip from Les Sables D'Olonne to Lanzarotte departing Les Sables on the 3rd Feb ( Just as the Vendee boats were arriving).
We were in fact, the Pro Skipper Bob, the owner Steven with dinghy experience only, and myself.
Trouble was that as the date approached I was seriously wondering what I had let myself in for, and was imagining 1250nm all hard on the wind and a nigfhtmare trip trying to beat in a flat bottomed boat (Brand new Beneteau 393) out of the bay and around Finisterre. Additionally I remembered Nicho had a few problems a bit further down off Casablanca didn't he?
Anyway I just wanted to share this with you. You will have doubtless seen the dirty great big high pressure area that has been sitting over the Channel and Western Approaches for the last 3 weeks.....God bless it!! Resulted in 1250nm with wind speeds all between 10kt and 40kt and all aft of the beam.. Days runs of between 160nm and 190nm clear blue skies until just off the Canaries (where it clouded up and started to rain!).
Dolphins and shooting stars;not bad for febuary eh? Add to this overnight stops in the fabulous port of Bayonna and also Lagos on the Algarve; brilliant!
Beneteaus?? Well....For the sailing we did you couldnt fault it, fast well mannered and fantastically well designed for its job right down to the last locker catch. Had we been going to windward I suspect it may have been a different story. The 30 minutes we did spend on the wind resulted in the Owner experiencing sustained periods of weightlesness in his cabin forward and enough slamming to shake out your fillings.
But have exhusted all my downwind sailing luck for the year???
Have a good day...... Nick
www.yachtsite.co.uk/fairweather
What do you think?
Due to a rush of blood to the brain and having a bit of spare time I had signed up to be 3rd crew on a delivery trip from Les Sables D'Olonne to Lanzarotte departing Les Sables on the 3rd Feb ( Just as the Vendee boats were arriving).
We were in fact, the Pro Skipper Bob, the owner Steven with dinghy experience only, and myself.
Trouble was that as the date approached I was seriously wondering what I had let myself in for, and was imagining 1250nm all hard on the wind and a nigfhtmare trip trying to beat in a flat bottomed boat (Brand new Beneteau 393) out of the bay and around Finisterre. Additionally I remembered Nicho had a few problems a bit further down off Casablanca didn't he?
Anyway I just wanted to share this with you. You will have doubtless seen the dirty great big high pressure area that has been sitting over the Channel and Western Approaches for the last 3 weeks.....God bless it!! Resulted in 1250nm with wind speeds all between 10kt and 40kt and all aft of the beam.. Days runs of between 160nm and 190nm clear blue skies until just off the Canaries (where it clouded up and started to rain!).
Dolphins and shooting stars;not bad for febuary eh? Add to this overnight stops in the fabulous port of Bayonna and also Lagos on the Algarve; brilliant!
Beneteaus?? Well....For the sailing we did you couldnt fault it, fast well mannered and fantastically well designed for its job right down to the last locker catch. Had we been going to windward I suspect it may have been a different story. The 30 minutes we did spend on the wind resulted in the Owner experiencing sustained periods of weightlesness in his cabin forward and enough slamming to shake out your fillings.
But have exhusted all my downwind sailing luck for the year???
Have a good day...... Nick
www.yachtsite.co.uk/fairweather