After my initial plan to wake up very early, I decided to just wake up normally and not make any rush to set off simply because the passage would be around five days and a few hours wasn’t going to make much difference. I mentally made a note of the time as Doris left the Sines marina pontoon, 0808utc the same date I left Brighton back in August.
I had tried to raise Bruce from the dead several times to say ‘farewell’ with no response (showering I later found out) and got the marina attendant to give me hand holding the bows until I was behind the wheel. Just as I was leaving the marina the voices of Niels (still at anchor) & Bruce could be heard over the radio VHF72 bidding me ‘Bon Voyage’. Make sure you guys stay in touch, it was great fun being around you both and I learnt lots from you. Stay safe and well both of you.
Once out into open water outside the marina the wind died a death, ‘a great bloody start’ I thought. The engine hours were 216 when I left and I wanted to reduce the engine usage as much as possible over the next few days, especially as I am due a second service.
Over a quick phone call to Kat the wind reappeared and we were off and sailing by 0900utc. The wind was over the beam and made for some great sailing and I had to keep reminding myself not to ‘over sail’ and relax. By evening the wind had got up with a swelly sea making Doris start to slam off the waves a little. With 2 reefs in the mainsail and a reefed jib I was still doing 7-8 knots of speed, good for progress but making life aboard hard work and sleep impossible.
Eventually by early morning the wind freed a little allowing me to sail more downwind with the wind now behind the beam making it more comfortable and possible to get some sleep now that I was about 100nm into the journey.
I kept the same routine throughout the trip and that is to take a few (too few) short (15-30 mins) ‘cat naps’ during daytime and then the same just after it got dark (1900utc) and then doing longer (30-60 mins) sleeps after midnight until daylight around 0700utc. All the time the faithful kitchen timer served me well and I actually thought on passage that if it broke I would be pretty stuffed and have to constantly charge and use my mobile phone as an alarm clock, maybe a back up should be considered essential.
In retrospect it is probably better to sleep during the day as visibility is better and there is less chance of someone (Commercial Shipping) running into you. However, who wants to simply sleep the way across, missing the daylight only to sit there staring into darkness in the cold and damp of the night.
My experience now allows me to think that despite horror stories of nobody on watch, the commercial shipping is very aware of the traffic around them. Each time I came into close proximity to ships they always changed course early enough for me to realise they would clear me by a safe distance. Those that made me a little worried, I called up on the VHF by approximate Lat & Long and they responded politely and stated their intended course around me. They also served to provide me with weather forecasts and whether there were any other vessels in the vicinity approaching.
I wonder how many ships I was close too during the hours of darkness when asleep as those that I did see were few and far between compared to daylight numbers, some of which got quite close. It’s probably better that I don’t know! In conclusion, I really need to think about getting either an AIS receiver or Mer Vielle (radar detector) to allow me to sleep more soundly on longer passages. Sleeping with ‘one eye open’ makes for wasted time trying to relax.
I think the shipping is largely ‘steered’ by computer in that radar and AIS constantly monitor the surrounding area and set off alarms based on CPA (Closest Point of Approach). I assume that my visibility to shipping is purely reliant on my radar reflector and hence I get very worried when low rain clouds descend as I am likely lost in the associated clutter on the radar screen.
Each time I set the timer for 15 minutes, I found that just as I relaxed the alarm sounded. On 30 minutes, the first 15 minutes was spent ‘trying’ to sleep. It wasn’t until the second or third consecutive 60 minute sleeps that I could fall straight back into deep sleep – the good stuff called REM sleep. The fact that I was dreaming meant that I was sleeping sound enough to get some benefit from it despite each session being short lived. However, the fact that I fell straight into deep sleep also implies that I wasn’t fully awake when checking the horizon!
Also, it’s a shock to the system when the odd big wave bangs against the hull, you wake up in an instant, heart thumping and adrenaline hitting your brain just as you get to the companionway expecting to see a huge tanker alongside, only to look at clear open ocean. Not good for your nerves!
Aside from the problems with sleep, the passage went very smoothly with wind mostly from astern. Most of the trip being made with a reefed and prevented mainsail hard against the spreaders (thank god I got the sail patches applied) and either a poled out jib or scrap of over sheeted jib to keep some balance. The Hanse 350 does not like going deep downwind on the Hydrovane with a full mainsail as she eventually rounds up, especially with a swell running, even with the mainsail luffing she continues to sail up into wind. I haven’t tried a full mainsail with poled out genoa yet so this may be the answer.
I spent most days simply absorbing the view and pondering over various trains of thought. I also found myself naked a lot of the time as it was so warm, besides who was going to see me? Thanks to Stu & Rach for ‘The Sailing Companion’, this book kept me company for a while – brilliant! I plotted my position every 6hrs and sent updates to ‘The Ground Crew’ via SatPhone each 0900utc.
All went smoothly until the final 50nm. I would have arrived at night which I hate doing. Also the wind had got up a bit and I was now on a close reach meaning Doris was again starting to slam when going to fast. I decided to reduce sail right down to a bare minimum (2 reefs and a scrap of jib) just to keep her plodding along around 2kn and get some sleep throughout the night.
Upon waking up from a 30 minute nap, around 30nm from landfall I was greeted by the sight of two cruise liners about 1nm away, one either side of my stern and this was my ‘wake up call’ with no more sleep being possible!
Upon reaching the last mile I watched as a huge squall descended from the mountains. It seemed like an artificial storm and was surreal as the wind went from 10kn to 30+kn in about 30 seconds. Rain pouring down I yanked down the mainsail and secured it with a sail tie before getting the engine on. At least I would have hot water and charged batteries when I arrived.
The squall lasted barely 15 minutes and I was soon just outside the marina. To the left of the marina is a huge beach where there were about five other boats anchored and it didn’t take much to convince me that this was going to be my choice of residence for the next few days.
I dropped the hook into about 4m (under the keel) at the bottom of the tide over sand.
The water is so clear and a deep blue that you can actually see the anchor set! Once anchored, I made myself tidy the boat before crashing out. About an hour after I arrived I recognised another boat just laying anchor to my starboard side which turned out to be Daniel of Luna who had just arrived from Cascais. He swam over and we had a quick chat before agreeing to go ashore the next day to explore.
For some reason I couldn’t relax all day and spent a good amount of time talking to Mr Crute on the phone and getting frustrated with the intermittent Internet access I could sometimes reach from the anchorage. That night I slept like a corpse!
All in all I felt I handled the passage, (my longest yet) quite well. Maintaining control of the boat as conditions required and my confidence has been lifted to a new level. Instead of gunning for landfall as soon as possible I was happy to remain offshore and time my arrival for daylight. It’s actually quite a nice feeling being a few hundred miles out at sea and the view, while a 360 degree seascape, keeps changing all the time. I only saw one pod of either dolphins or small pilot whales (the latter I think) during the whole trip which I thought was strange?
Anyway, we made it and the next stop (aside from Madeira just 30nm away) will be the Canaries (~250nm). I am definitely going to try and purchase an AIS in Madeira or get someone to bring one out when they visit me.
Throughout the passage I took some video footage (no nakedness I promise) of which I might try and make something presentable, once I figure out how.
