Saturday 27 April 2019

In the previous years we have covered quite long distances between places, but this year we are making a determined effort to have shorter trips where feasible and today was to be one of the shortest. As a result, we were in no rush to get up and started, so we spent a good amount of time this morning planning where we would stay and trying to sorting out bookings for the most critical days, when we have crew changes and where we plan to leave the boat in the summer. We worked our way through the research and fired off emails, some of which were replied to by later in the day.

We left in not much wind and although we sailed a bit, the wind completely died on us and I eventually got tired of looking at the same bubbles in our ”wake” so put on the engine. This, as is often then case, caused the wind to start again, and before too long we were able to resume sailing in peace, without the engine noise.

Dramatic scenery

The last few days have seen dramatic changes in the weather. The colour of the sea has changed from a dull bluey grey to a vivid turquois.  The atmospheric pressure has gone up about 9 millibar in 3 days.  Hopefully this means that the summer weather systems are now asserting themselves and we will have the sort of climate we hope for. All this means that when there is no wind or we are downwind, it is warm, but when you are in shadow or going into even a modest breeze it still feels cool.  I am moving between t shirt and shorts, and then having a jacket on.

We made progress at a slowish speed and realised that we were moving at the right pace for fishing, so for the first time in over a year, the trolling line came out. We didn’t catch anything, but at least we tried.

We arrived at the bay we had selected as our anchorage and found it full of boats.  Mooring bouys had been laid and were being well used. We found a buoy that we were comfortable gave us enough space and secured ourselves to it.  A few of the other boats were noisy, but most left in the early evening, leaving just ourselves and 3 others to stay overnight.

Distance covered today	12	nautical miles
Trip distance covered	222	nautical miles
Distance covered 2019	222	nautical miles
Steve (and Tricia)