"The Cruise so far"

Who said I'm worried ? or does it show ?
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Hi all,

I’m at present back home attending to business for a few days.

The cruise has gone very well so far with very few hiccups.

Despite strict instructions from Monique and genuine intentions to make notes as we went along I lapsed into male apathy and foolishly thought I could remember details indefinitely.

We met up with another EYC cruiser near the IOW
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Completely the opposite of course. One section tends to blend into the next and besides I have the excuse of memory dyslexia.

On the first leg the Crew were Duncan, Tim and Mike.

The initial start from Erith was rather unpleasant due to overcast and wet conditions and very lumpy sea conditions. A stop-over at Brighton was very welcome. Unfortunately at Brighton one of our Crew,Mike had to leave due to unforeseen family commitments and made arrangements to meet back up with us near Porto In Portugal.

You come across all types of boats out there
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From Brighton to Falmouth we had quite changeable weather conditions. i.e. sailed some, motored some. Incidentally during my boat preparations I had decided to install new sails, which have proved a very good investment and despite my having to (over) loaded the boat with more junk than normal (Harmony is staying in Malta - hence every bit of boat kit I own is on board as well) she has been managing quite fast sailing speeds. Motoring is quite a different matter - average speed - 5 knots, partially due to the weight and also not wanting to push the old Yanmar 20 horsepower engine too hard.

No lean diets for the crew on Harmony.
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On the way to Falmouth we stopped at Brixham where we moored alongside a beautiful wooden Gaffer, we also anchored at an idyllic spot called Cowsands - almost isolated - cracking sunset.

For this leg Keith joined us and Tim decided to stay on for a further leg - back to four crew.

So after a good check-over and food re-stocking we were off on the “big-one”. It seems that when you mention “sailing across the bay of Biscay” most  conjure up this frightening sea area so it’s bound to churn your old belly a little. Until of course you are actually on the way and then you are too busy to worry. I am convinced that the old Sea Gods must have taken a shine to us because we had the most amazing sail from Falmouth to La Coruna that we could have wished for. Duncan’s comment - who incidentally crossed the Atlantic solo in his home built yacht 3 years ago - was that you could do this section ten more times and never again get gifted with these conditions. It took three nights and one day to get across and although the swell was huge Harmony took it in it’s stride. The only time we started the engine during this section was to charge the three 100amp-hour service batteries that power the GPS, Radar, weather information Navtex, VHF radio, Sonar, fridge (nice to treat yourself to a beer and a bacon sarny in the middle of Biscay) and various other pieces of electronic kit.

It's goodbye Britain and across the notorious Biscay.
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After an overnight rest and restocking we sailed on along the Spanish coast with an obligatory celebratory dram as we sailed past Cape Finistere.

So on to Portugal where we stopped for a well earned rest at Viana do Castello, a beautiful medieval port. Well not so much of a rest as there was a lot going on at the time. I’d say this place is well worth a visit if anyone is in the area at some time.

At Viana we had the first major Crew change and this is where one finds that you have started to bond well as a crew when suddenly 3 members dissappear to the airport. A very strange feeling of sadness to see them depart. Until of course the next day when the new crew, Malcolm, Paul and Mike arrived.

Mr. Spnnaker man - Tim. He had that sail flying at every opportunity. nAnd it was invaluable across the Bay - very fast indeed.
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Again a quick re-stocking and we set off again this time with Gibraltar as our target.

This is where it gets a little hazy (no notes or GPS history to refer to at home) I seem to remember stopping at Varzim, Sesimbra, Porto Sherry and finally a cracking sail through the straights of Gibraltar.

I have to mention that on this last section it was payback time from the old Sea Gods, where we had very variable conditions:- lumpy seas, heavy winds, dead calm, fog and worst of all we ran out of beer.

The wind is in the right direction and Duncan is raring to get across Biscay while the going is good.
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But approaching Gibraltar made up for all the inconvenience that we had experienced on this leg. Cracking sail on the final section through the straights of Gibraltar as the wind funnels through this narrow channel.

A continious stream of shipping passing underneath the majestic Atlas mountains in Morocco to the right and numerous number of ships of all shapes and sizes anchored outside the Rock patiently waiting to enter the harbour to disgorge their cargo to Spain or load up on their way to other ports throughout the world.

But before we go, some repairs to the VHF radio cablling. And goes who's the lightest to go aloft?
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This was quite an emotional arrival, marking our departure from the Atlantic to the contrastingly different Mediterranean sea.

So this is where I left to return home to attend to business and spend some time with my family for a few days.

On Friday 27 June I heard from the current Crew, Dennis, Malcolm, Pedro and Paul that had set off from Gib to Almiera on the South East coast of Spain where they are due to arrive today 28 June.

The intention was to hop over to a couple of ports in Morocco but I understand that they were put off by rumours of over beurocratic tendences in this area (correct me if I’m wrong as I would love to sail there sometime).

harmony dips her nose in coming off the swell.
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Next stage is to meet up with the Crew at Majorca where Dennis will be returning home and the rest are staying on for the duration.

Now I shall attempt another first of loading up some piccies of ‘the cruise so far’.

Godders & Crew

Harmony