We reached Sao Miguel within a few minutes of the fuel dock closing. We have used 100 litres in just over a day so it is worth the overnight wait to fill up. The engine has been running fine over the last few hours and the oil filter is definitely correct so I think we'll just fuel and go.
Ponta Delgarda is very different to Horta and if we'd just come here we'd have missed the charm of the Azores and seen only a modern European city. There are two marinas, one of which is obviously the hip and happening place on the island with bars, clubs and live music and the other where we are moored at the reception dock is older and quieter. We'd just had dinner (the Flan worked out fine) so went in search of beer and internet access to update our weather information. We found a nice lively bar in the new marina with constant Michael Jackson videos on the TV and even some patrons in Jackson look-alike clothes presumably as a tribute.
Overnight with heavy rain, strong winds and surge we were glad to be comfortably moored rather than being battered at sea. On fuelling at 9am we discovered the local credit card/ATM system was down and had to have a whip-round to raise 100 Euros in cash as I'd used almost all mine on fuel in Horta. Chris our weather forecaster had suggested we might wait here for a day as quite strong winds were expected but the predicted levels were within our limits and as anyone who has sailed with me knows I like a good blow.
So we set off in 20knot winds and a fine grey drizzle, after a few hours the wind was getting towards 30knots and seas were increasing so we decided to put in another reef. Normal drill, set up the lines (and in this case furl the Genoa), turn into wind etc. However, with waves coming up to 10 feet and at an angle to the wind it was a struggle for Jim to hold the boat into wind and we discovered that after a bit of flapping about we were missing the two top "cars" from the main sail track (these hold the head of the sail to the mast) The pin had come out of the top one on the way from Horta and I'd forgotten to change it in Sao Miguel. With the sail fully hoisted this might still be OK as the tension from the halyard would keep the head of the sail in place but with two reefs and lots of wind I could see the potential for the sail to break further cars like a zipper coming undone. With winds now at 36 knots we turned and ran downwind under power to give Justin and me time to fit the two spare cars (I'd been carrying these since one failed in Malta a year ago). This involved sliding all the remaining cars out of the mast track and dropping the mainsail off the mast. This was a fight as they are under tension and because we have no outhaul it couldn't be made easier without unrigging the clew which would take more time and be a pig to re-rig. We were able to keep the bulk of the sail tied in the sail bag so we didn't have lots of flapping canvas to contend with as we slid in the two new cars, fitted the pins that were still attached to the sail into the cars and put back the rest of the sail.
This time I changed our positions so I had the helm, Jim the halyard, Louise would pay out the reef lines and Justin help the sail around the lazy jacks on the coach roof. Bit windy but no problem and we were back on track towards Gibraltar.
Good speeds the rest of the day, even once surfing at 13knots through the water with (2 reefs and 80% Genoa) which is the fastest I've been. We are in something of a cross sea and now running at 150 degrees to the apparent wind Gull winged (with the Genoa the opposite side to the main).
If any new 420 0wners haven't tried running like this with a preventer and an extra Genoa sheet I've put in how we do this at the bottom.
I cooked a traditional spaghetti carbonara tonight, or rather was the executive chef. The wind and sea were keeping me a bit busy so Louise and Justin did most of the work while provided the recipe and supervised then did the final mix with the raw-egg, Parmesan, onion, bacon and the spaghetti (the egg cooks from the residual heat as you toss it together). This is a dish I am quite proud of and was appalled when Justin poured Jerk barbecue sauce on it before tasting it - only one word for this and it was right on the bottle.
A large wave occasionally gives our stern a knock sideways and hand steering is required to keep the Genoa from collapsing when this happens. The Raymarine autopilot is very good particularly with the Giro fitted but it can't anticipate the boat turning and compensate like a helmsman can. I've swapped watches with Louise tonight so I can handle the worst of the winds.
By the time she comes on at midnight it should be all quiet and will probably stay that way until Wednesday or Thursday.
It has been a peaceful night and we're once again the "Motor Vessel" Hakuna Matata.
Gull winging
To sail downwind Gull winged I use an extra sheet on the Genoa rigged through a block on the centre cleat and back to the port (in this case) winch and a preventer (just a 12mm rope) attached to the shackle of the mainsheet block (the one at the end of the boom) which runs through a block on the starboard centre cleat and then outside the railings (but inside the
shroud) to be tied off on the back cleat. When we rig this we loosen the mainsheet right out so the preventer can be tied off easily and then tighten the mainsheet until no more than one batten is touching the shroud. This also has the benefit when working against the preventer of acting like a downhaul and tensioning the mainsail which can improve sailing speeds with the apparent wind anywhere behind the beam. I have been told that the Lagoon moratoria on running at more than 150 to the apparent is because a preventer is required for safety and this is considered too complex for the charter market. Running gull winged like this is effective right up to 170 but if you are using the autopilot it needs to be set relative to the wind (I usually use 150) and not having backstays I pay very strict attention to the loading on the shrouds and mast and am well reefed at anything over 15knots - this is in any case usually a light winds strategy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment