Ria De Camarinas (2)

Tuesday 9th September 2008
Upon waking up I knew immediately that I wouldn’t be going anywhere and could ‘relax’. The situation was that I had one of three green bars (before one amber and one red) on the fuel guage and really needed to get some fuel just incase caught out as this coast isn’t called the Costa Del Morte for nothing and the formidable Finister was only remaining hurdle before the sun really comes out – so they tell me.

For some reason I couldn’t relax for breakfast or even a cuppa until I had visually checked around the boat, and there they were… The bat cars I had fitted in Brighton to the mainsail before leaving the UK were broken. It is a good job I noticed this as the next time I would have raised the sail it may have torn and then I would be really without a paddle!

The sail battens are connected to the sliders that run up the mast groove by a ‘horseshoe’ shaped piece of metal with a retaining screw that screws through it and through the actual batten. Two of the four ‘horseshoes’ were completely bent out of shape with the screw being held in place by only one side and the plastic batten. Luckily no screws had been lost. I removed the two bent ones completely and got the tool bag out. After bending them back into shape I was able to refit them so no harm done, the remaining two were in place but loose and would have soon suffered the same fate as the other two just repaired. At some stage I will replace the screws with bolts and nyloc nuts just to be sure I think.

Finally, time for breakfast. Pondering the fuel situation I consulted the guide books. At Camarinas fuel is available but only in cans. I really do not want to try and get moored in this tiny marina on my own just to get fuel using my one and only can. My tank is 110 litres and my can 20 litres, I reckon I have less than a third left. I could get the dinghy out and then row ashore to get a can full but this is going to take a while and then its hassle trying to stow the dinghy on the foredeck and all for 20 litres that’s hardly going to make any difference. To be honest I’m just too lazy to do anything!

Meanwhile its nice and sunny and the wind dies off to nothing and the boat is drifting in circles with no chance of the anchor coming out, so I drop off to sleep. Maybe the problem will go away?

Throughout the day I continue to ‘ponder’ the fuel problem. It’s weird how your brain stops working when you are tired. My options…

1.> Get the dinghy out – It has to come out at some point anyway. Go ashore and get some fuel. I can arrange someone to take my lines and suss the marina out first hand from ashore if more fuel is still required.
2.> Radio the marina – Just get the boat over there and at least I will only have to carry the fuel can rather than row it in the dinghy.
3.> Set off regardless of being low on fuel – This is the most attractive scenario, pretend the problem does not exist. I can then get fuel at the next destination (Portisino - ~50nm). However, I know that the weather has to be guaranteed perfect for this and its not. The forecast for tomorrow is saying no wind at all (motor required) to start with then going to F6 (motor might be handy).

I’ll sleep on it…

I spent the afternoon planning routes and playing the guitar, I’ll get up early tomorrow morning and see how much wind there is and make a call on it.

During the afternoon helpful matey (who’s day I ruined previously) paddled over to say ‘hello’, we discussed weather and plans etc and he is looking to get going tomorrow morning. I did consider asking to borrow his dinghy seeing as it was already pumped up and wet, but decided this would be really taking the piss as mine is packed away nicely not more than 5 feet away.

Just as it starts to get dark I remember to put on the anchor light, only to find … It no longer works! Aaarrrgghhh!!!! … What else can go wrong!!!!

After playing around with the switches in the hope of a miracle, I resign myself that it’s busted. I decide to use the deck light as there is no way I’m climbing the mast in the dark.

Despite having a spotlight on me, I slept like a dead man. I am not sure if I knew that there was no wind at all and hence little risk of pulling the anchor out or if I didn’t care if it pulled or not and I run aground, either way – I slept!