Wednesday 8 May 2019

Having read warnings about another bay, we had anchored yesterday in a small, remote cala (bay), U shaped and with steep sides. These were to protect us from whatever breeze there was forecast. The spot was gorgeous, with only a couple of buildings in view. We took the prime position near the centre of the bay and had carefully laid our anchor, ensuring that it was solidly held. During the early evening a large motor yacht had come in, we suspect because the folks on board wanted to swim, but they were put off by the abundance of jellyfish and moved on to another bay.  We were glad because there would have been barely enough room for the two of us, between the lines of rocks at the base of the cliffs.

As the evening wore on, we were aware of the wind increasing and we were concerned enough that although we had gone to bed, I decided to get up and monitor the instruments to ensure that we were not dragging the anchor.  We have various alarms for this, but the most accurate one is located in the plotter unit, which is on deck and at the other end of the boat from where we sleep. As a result, we do not hear it from our cabin, which makes it slightly less useful.

The wind was funneling down this valley into the bay

The wind continued to increase, and at about 1:30 it became obvious that we had started to drag the anchor, fortunately initially out to sea. You decide on the amount of chain to lay out depending on the depth.  As we moved into deeper water, the ratio of the chain to the depth changed, and as a result you start to drag faster.  Once we had appreciated what was happening, we were both on deck in a flash, with the engine running, and before long, dressed only in my night attire, I was on the foredeck retrieving the anchor.  It was a very dark night and the next problem was which direction to go.  We could not really distinguish the cliffs from the open sea, and initially had to rely on the instruments.  The bay was too small and rocky to attempt to re-lay the anchor, so we headed out into the open sea.  There were no better places or harbours nearby, and the other calas would not be reasonable to enter in the dark, so we concluded that we would just head for our next planned anchorage and go slowly enough to arrive after dawn. We spent a rather cold and frustrating night, taking turns to be on deck, as we inched slowly to the next anchorage.

We arrived in the early morning to find 2 other British yachts in residence there.  We had previously discounted this site because the pilot book said that it was particularly prone to katabatic winds.  These are what had caused the strong winds that we had experienced overnight, and as soon as we had got away from the cala, the wind had dropped.  We chatted on the radio to one of the other boats and asked their experience.  I got the impression that they had not had a comfortable night either, and they both left early in search of shelter.  We anchored and got our heads down for a couple of hours.

We decided not to stay there overnight and have moved on to another cala, this time without the high cliffs that contribute to the katabatic winds. It was not far to go, and once, here we have rested and relaxed, while still keeping a careful watch on where we are.

Distance covered today	7	nautical miles
Trip distance covered	349	nautical miles
Distance covered 2019	349	nautical miles
Steve (and Tricia)