This is our second well needed break after setting sail on the Big Adventure. 10 days straight to Madeira was the plan but unfortunately the elements have not been favourable to us ever since we decided to leave. We planned to leave La Rochelle around the 15/10/09 but were delayed due to bad weather. This was a perfect opportunity for a few practice sails, try out our extremely fetching wet weather gear and get a feel for the boat. All went well and we eventually managed to leave late on the 22/10/09.
It took us quite a few hours to even get past the islands of La Rochelle as the wind was constantly wanting to push us back and it started to rain but we were all still in good spirits, wrapped up in the excitement and our sexy wet weather gear and wellies! Once out into the Bay of Biscay, I can honestly say, things went from bad to worse. Huge 7m swells, wind pushing us in the wrong direction, constant rain and all in the pitch black of night. We were meant to be taking it turns to have 3 hour sleeps but that didn't go to plan either with sea sickness from the constant rolling of the boat, unable to eat anything other than biscuits and cereal bars due to wanting to vomit after just 30secs of being inside and the never ending cold from the wind and rain. Unfortunately being 'a girl' I got myself into a right state, having not eaten for 2 days, I got so cold and felt so sick that I had to lie down and leave the boys to it. I am so grateful to Tom being with us as I cannot imagine going through everything we have so far with just Mark and I. Although, having caught 2 baby tunas and a mackeral with his new rod, I did not appreciate them being left in a bucket under the sink whilst struggling not to vomit!
After nearly getting ploughed down by numerous trawlers and tankers in the night, Mark decided we should stop to get some sleep and we headed for the nearest land point south. Ortucho, a tiny fishing village on the north east coast of Spain. We were welcomed in by dolphins playing in our wake and anchored in the bay surrounded by caves and lots of moody fishermen. We took the tender onto the village and lasted all of about 5 minutes of being stared at by the locals before heading back to the boat where we all slept in preparation for whatever the weather was going to throw at us next.
We left the next day, 26/10/09 with strong prevailing winds, blue sky and sunshine. We were hooning at 6-8knots, surfing the waves and finally enjoying sailing. We were making really good progress once out in the deeper water and decided to try and go as far as we could before the wind changed. Night fell and for a time we had a bright half moon guiding us through the huge swells that had started forming. As the moon disappeared, it became harder and harder to control the boat with swells rising high up behind us with a strong side wind. Once again it was decided we needed to get back to shelter and attempted to turn south causing a huge rip in our mainsail. I will honestly say at that point I was very scared. Watching Mark going up on deck to pull the sail down whilst the boat was being bashed about by the waves was all a bit too much. We ended up motoring for 8 hours whilst fighting with the waves to our new anchorage point. It's a relief to stop, dry everything out, re-stow everything that flew out on to the floor and for Mark to finally sleep.
From now on we will be taking our time and getting regular weather reports to hopefully avoid any further stormy nights and then hopefully I can learn more about the fun sailing and not just the scary stuff!
