We’ve been studying the weather ardently for the last few days and it appears we are in for a lot of strong wind over the weekend both here in Guernsey and in Swanage. However there is a bit of a window Thursday.
The downside of this is we lose 3 days of our holiday, also, after careful analysis of the tides the leave time will have to be 0330 at the latest. Just thinking about it makes me feels tired.
An early night Wednesday and up with the L… well actually, nothing and no one, we are the only ones about. We slip out of the marina in complete darkness and head out into the Little Russell. As we move off NE we are well aware of the fact one of the major obstacles along the way is currently unmarked and unlit. “Roustel” beacon has broken and the light is not functioning. As we near it around 0400hrs there is a faint glimmer of dawn in the sky and we can just make the collapsed form of the beacon as we pass by.
Theres a light following wind and the engines helping to keep us at the minimum 6kts we need to maintain if we are to get past Alderney before the tide turns.
Around 0700 the wind drops to 7 kts so we get the screecher sail up, This is the maximum sail area that we can fly, with a maximum limit of 15kts. Within 10 mins there’s 20 kts of wind and were struggling to furl the screecher, by the time it’s in it’s up to 24kts and we put a reef in the main, and genoa, another five mins and we are “hove to”, reefing the main a second time whilst trying to keep an eye on the massive cargo ship that’s fast disappearing into a bank of fog/rain.
Back on course we both jump as the Captain of the cargo ship blasts his horn, presumably to let us know where he is, CLOSE by the sound of it, but thankfully also past our position.
Then “blow me down” The clouds disappear, the sun comes out, we can see about 10miles and the wind is back to a very acceptable 15- 18 kts. Of course I have to go back up on deck and shake all the reefs out, but at least we can see the horizon, the boats moving well, and we are on schedule.
The rest of the journey is good and we arrive at durlston bay in about 25kts of wind, and turn into Swanage bay to moor up at around 1700 hrs.
As I come ashore with the first batch of bags, the only question I’m being asked by the Thursday night racers is “Whats the wind like out there?”
4 Kidneys and a Wonky Leg 