The excitement of the day was buying a heater so now the boat is finally toasty warm and dry, hurray!
Hoping to leave Monday if the weather clears but here's some idea of what it is like...
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Still waiting.
We are still in Gijon awaiting the 'mar gruesa' (I have translated this to mean gruesome sea!) to calm down. It's still very windy and rains all day. We are managing to occupy ourselves with daily walks to the supermarket just to look around and watching endless films on the computer.
The excitement of the day was buying a heater so now the boat is finally toasty warm and dry, hurray!
Hoping to leave Monday if the weather clears but here's some idea of what it is like...
The excitement of the day was buying a heater so now the boat is finally toasty warm and dry, hurray!
Hoping to leave Monday if the weather clears but here's some idea of what it is like...
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Now we wait..
We spent 3 nights at Santander, 1 in the marina and the other 2 at anchor in the harbour. The marina was very quiet and a fair distance out of town but very pretty with helpful staff and a shop where we could get the sail mended. I did offer to stitch it back by hand and then thought better of it remembering how rubbish I am at that sort of thing!
Once in town we had a wander about along the sea front, bikini beach (lacking in bikinis!) and up to Magdelene Palace on the headland. After that we hired the free bikes and cycled through Llama park and back into town. Anyone who knows me well, will know that I have an aversion to bikes and that is why I would like to thank Shorty, Coops and Cotrozzi for their patience at re-teaching me in the park last Summer. Once I had got the seat lower enough for my feet to touch the ground and in very wide cycle lanes on the pavement, I loved it. I feel I now have lots of cycling to catch up on and want to at every possible oppurtunity!
We left Santander harbour with bright sunshine and blue skies but unfortunately no wind, therefore having to motor for 2 days. With the autopilot on, there was plenty of time for reading and we are now experts at fishing. We have caught numerous baby tuna, killed, gutted & cooked expertly by Tom but if anyone has any good recipes for what we can do with them, it would be greatly appreciated.
We are now in the port of Gijon, once again awaiting good weather as after having no wind for so long, we were suddenly hit by another storm of gusty winds and rain. Luckily it had been expected and our plan had been to come and shelter here until it passes. So far, Gijon does not seem the most exciting of places but maybe that was because everything seemed to shut after 12noon on a Monday!
Today we will be getting further weather updates and then the waiting game begins...
Once in town we had a wander about along the sea front, bikini beach (lacking in bikinis!) and up to Magdelene Palace on the headland. After that we hired the free bikes and cycled through Llama park and back into town. Anyone who knows me well, will know that I have an aversion to bikes and that is why I would like to thank Shorty, Coops and Cotrozzi for their patience at re-teaching me in the park last Summer. Once I had got the seat lower enough for my feet to touch the ground and in very wide cycle lanes on the pavement, I loved it. I feel I now have lots of cycling to catch up on and want to at every possible oppurtunity!
We left Santander harbour with bright sunshine and blue skies but unfortunately no wind, therefore having to motor for 2 days. With the autopilot on, there was plenty of time for reading and we are now experts at fishing. We have caught numerous baby tuna, killed, gutted & cooked expertly by Tom but if anyone has any good recipes for what we can do with them, it would be greatly appreciated.
We are now in the port of Gijon, once again awaiting good weather as after having no wind for so long, we were suddenly hit by another storm of gusty winds and rain. Luckily it had been expected and our plan had been to come and shelter here until it passes. So far, Gijon does not seem the most exciting of places but maybe that was because everything seemed to shut after 12noon on a Monday!
Today we will be getting further weather updates and then the waiting game begins...
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Not Quite As Expected
We have arrived at Santander, a city on the north coast of Spain. We are at anchor in the harbor, surrounded by pretty beaches and fishing boats. The entire contents of the boat are drying on the deck in the sun making us look like a chinese laundry gypsy boat. Mark is finally sleeping having been up for 24hrs and Tom is lying in the tender trying to decide whether it is warm enough to wash himself in the sea today.
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!
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!
Thursday, 8 October 2009
From the beginning...
From the beginning...
As you all know by now, Mark and I are getting ready to set sail around the world. How far will we get? Who knows but with no time constraints and no other commitments, who cares?! We may get to Madeira and decide it's our dream destination or actually hate being on the water (I'm hoping not!) but we'll see.
It's all been a bit of a whirlwind so far. I did not have any plans to buy a boat, let alone sail it around the world when I left the comforts of Val D'Isere. I left happy in the fact I was yet to return for another winter season of minor injuries and liver damage. I left all my worldly belongings stored under a chalet somewhere for the Summer, took my little bag with a few bits and bobs and headed on a road trip with Mark to go and stay on his little boat Eole in La Rochelle.
Living on Eole was hilarious, not being able to stand up, close the toilet door and having to sleep on the table, is probably not most peoples idea of fun but I loved the simple boat life, so when we were offered Vitriol at a steal and Mark suggested we bought it to travel around the world in, it was not a hard decision to make.
It had a fair bit of work that needed doing but as it has a steel hull, Mark has become the welding master and I am now pretty proficient with an angle grinder! We finally got all the exterior done and thanks to my sister's AMAZING sewing skills (thanks Kim!), the interior is now looking pretty fancy too.
Having been back in London for the last 6 weeks earning some cash for the trip, I am super excited about getting back to the boat now knowing that we are just about ready to set sail. We are hoping to leave La Rochelle on the 15th October (weather depending) and head straight to Madeira. We are lucky to have the wonderful company of Tom Coney with us from the start which I am very excited about having already tasted his culinary delights in the past!
It has been so fantastic to be able to come back and see my friends and family before heading off on this big adventure. Thank you all so much for your support, love and friendship, please keep in touch and come and visit whenever you want. Love you all XXXX
As you all know by now, Mark and I are getting ready to set sail around the world. How far will we get? Who knows but with no time constraints and no other commitments, who cares?! We may get to Madeira and decide it's our dream destination or actually hate being on the water (I'm hoping not!) but we'll see.
It's all been a bit of a whirlwind so far. I did not have any plans to buy a boat, let alone sail it around the world when I left the comforts of Val D'Isere. I left happy in the fact I was yet to return for another winter season of minor injuries and liver damage. I left all my worldly belongings stored under a chalet somewhere for the Summer, took my little bag with a few bits and bobs and headed on a road trip with Mark to go and stay on his little boat Eole in La Rochelle.
Living on Eole was hilarious, not being able to stand up, close the toilet door and having to sleep on the table, is probably not most peoples idea of fun but I loved the simple boat life, so when we were offered Vitriol at a steal and Mark suggested we bought it to travel around the world in, it was not a hard decision to make.It had a fair bit of work that needed doing but as it has a steel hull, Mark has become the welding master and I am now pretty proficient with an angle grinder! We finally got all the exterior done and thanks to my sister's AMAZING sewing skills (thanks Kim!), the interior is now looking pretty fancy too.
Having been back in London for the last 6 weeks earning some cash for the trip, I am super excited about getting back to the boat now knowing that we are just about ready to set sail. We are hoping to leave La Rochelle on the 15th October (weather depending) and head straight to Madeira. We are lucky to have the wonderful company of Tom Coney with us from the start which I am very excited about having already tasted his culinary delights in the past!
It has been so fantastic to be able to come back and see my friends and family before heading off on this big adventure. Thank you all so much for your support, love and friendship, please keep in touch and come and visit whenever you want. Love you all XXXX
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