Tabitha’s Tales

21/06/07 1723GMT. 45 21N 19 03W. COG 055T SOG 6.5Kts. 24hr logged 144nm. To Plymouth 669nm.

BBC Radio 4 has rarely been so exciting as it was last night when I managed to pick up live Radio 4 Long Wave on the ship’s radio. What a milestone. It really does make me feel as though I am getting closer. Sadly the programming being broadcast was rather silly and I can only receive it after dark which excludes the Radio 4 soap opera ‘The Archers’. As tonight is the shortest night of the year my options are pretty limited.

It is very hard to believe that it is Midsummer today. It is jolly cold out here with a lot of grey cloud and grey sea of the kind that features so strongly in 1940’s film ‘The Cruel Sea’. (Come to think of it - a good choice for a black and white film - grey sea and grey ships!).

Furthermore, I have developed a cold. That is virtually unknown on Midsummer’s Day and seems completely unreasonable given my latitude. Luckily, current conditions allow for a great deal of resting in ones bunk which is probably just what’s needed. Cruising is such a healthy way of life that you rarely meet anyone with any kind of ailment though skin cancer does seem to be a emerging issue.

I decided it was well over the time to open my ‘75% of the way’ present from Rob & Lisa and found a very welcome bar of special chocolate. Thank you very much. Another milestone passed today was our 9000th nautical mile aboard Tabitha. We will have done almost exactly 10,000 by the time ‘Tabitha’ is at home on her mooring.

Despite yesterday’s forecast of three days of light winds, we have continued in good winds today and continue to make good speed for Plymouth. There will be some calms and some contrary winds to contend with but at present, no particularly difficult weather is forecast.

Wed 20/06/07 1540GMT 43 39N 21 07W. COG 040 SOG 6kts. Last 24 hrs logged 138nm. To Plymouth 800.

Yesterdays posting announced that we were past the 1000nm to go milestone and today we have just cracked the 800nm point. Not bad. Progress will very likely slow over the next 3 days as a high pressure ridge settles over us bringing light and variable winds. If the speed really drops off I will put the engine on so my schedule won’t be unduly effected. Sunday looks as though it will bring N winds and I am guessing at possibly NNE after that but have no forecast for that period yet.

Winds have become noticeably light as the high pressure begins to make its presence felt but with it comes blue skys which is an improvement over the grey unstable cumulus that has dominated since we left. It is cold though, especially at night, and I have developed a slight sore throat as a result. Still, I am taking it easy and letting ‘Tabitha’ do all the work. It is amazing to observe her pulling along, mile after mile, 24hrs a day. I think she to must be keen to get home.

The great news is that I have confirmed plans for the final leg home from Plymouth. My friend Doc David from Suffolk will be joining me. This is exciting news as the final leg would be a tedious affair without good company aboard. It also adds a considerable safety factor as the English Channel is one of the busiest waterways in the world. With the workload shared, we will be able to make swifter progress with fewer rest stops. David is a very experienced seaman and solo sailor and runs a boat which
is a sistership to ‘Tabitha’ so I hope to learn a thing or two. He has been enormously supportive of our family sailing adventures and there could be no one more fitting to join me for the final push home.

A ship came by at dawn this morning, detected first at a range of 5.5nm by the radar and then a little later by the AIS receiver. A SE setting current was apparent in the difference between the reading of ships heading and it’s track over the ground (It was only going 10kts). An interesting application of AIS but I had expected the system to pick up their signal much earlier.

It was almost impossible to hear Herb last night due to a high level of static. I think we may be getting out of range for that time in the evening. I have noticed that other boats have sometimes lost touch with him at this stage. It may be no bad thing. It isn’t easy having to follow the instructions of someone who isn’t having to sail the course. All I could copy was that he wanted us to keep heading north. Well, all other data we had, including regular contact with boats 40nm NE who have been
in consistently stronger winds than me, pointed to a more NNE course which of is closer to the course for Falmouth. So we have been heading 040T all day and it certainly feels right. I do need to make progress north though as we expect northerlies later in the week so I am not steering directly for Plymouth which bears 053T.

We are now north of the latitude of Cape Finisterre but 500nm to the west. In a wildly over optimistic move, I have already tuned one of the channels on the HF radio to 197Khz. The frequency of BBC Radio 4 LW but I think we will need to sail for a few days more before we can receive anything!

1642GMT 41 47N 22 43W. COG 015T 5.5Kts. 24 Hrs 129nm. To Plymouth 925nm.

Less than 1000nm to Plymouth. That is pretty encouraging. I want the days and nights to pass as quickly as possible.

We are making steady progress, just east of north at present. Uncle Herb is nervous of the Low and won’t let us go NE yet. Very frustrating as we would make good progress in that direction today. I very much hope he will say we can head direct for Plymouth when I speak to him tonight though I rather doubt he will.

It looks pretty clear that the Low will be moving out of the picture on Saturday and we are so far away from it that it doesn’t seem that it could be a threat.

The weather calls can be quite tricky. We have had news of two boats that left Horta when I did. ‘Cyrenthi’ is a nice 40′ wooden classic sloop. They sailed a pretty direct course and arrived in Falmouth after only about 8 days but with leaky seams and loose chain-plates and saying they wouldn’t do that again. Another boat ‘Stromboli’ put back into Terciera like us but left the same day and made a push east in accordance with Herb’s advice. They had a fair passage but uncomfortable a lot of the time
and should arrive in Falmouth today. Both boats were fully crewed.

Luna Quest has decided to push direct for Falmouth and is making rapid progress in that direction. Eric seems to have a different attitude to me. He makes faster passages in more boisterous weather but arrives with breakages and complains about the strong winds afterwards. I plan to arrive with no breakages and no complaints but it may take me a day or so longer! Still, it is hard to see him flying off in the right direction and leaving me plodding north.

For most of the night we had 30kts gusting 35 from the WNW but as predicted the front passed overhead this morning, the wind has veered and moderated and I now have shaken out all the reefs and am making best speed for Plymouth.

I managed to download a good array of weather faxes from Northwood which show the Low centred over the Western Approaches on Wednesday and Thursday before beginning to fill and move along the English Channel to the Southern North Sea by Saturday (passing over Brighton Marina just as my brother Rob starts his holiday in his new boat - but then maybe giving him good winds for Cherbourgh). All this should give us a good run of NW winds with which to make some steady progress towards England. Ironically
the challenge now, is to stay under the influence of the Low which has been giving us all this grief rather than be overtaken by the light airs associated with a High coming up behind us!

I am counting this as the third day out. Spirits are beginning to improve and I have had hot food and drink which is something of a privilege aboard Tabitha at the moment.

On the first day out I found that there was no gas at the cooker. We have a remotely controlled solenoid valve which is used to shut of the gas at gas locker when it is not in use. I have always been concerned about this failing but didn’t buy a spare as they are expensive and I expect to get a whole new regulator in England. Instead I bought a small camping stove as a backup but found that, stored in the gas locker, the disposable gas bottles had corroded badly and not wanting the danger of a leak
threw them away only four days ago! Well, as we were hove to yesterday I delved into the gas locker (my least favorite compartment on the boat) and found I had to remove the entire bulkhead mounted regulator with gas pipes and associated clutter. I couldn’t simply bypass the solenoid valve as the fittings are incompatible. Luckily, the solenoid valve worked once I had cleaned the connections and applied a healthy voltage to it. The damp conditions in the gas locker had obviously corroded the wiring
to the point where insufficient voltage was getting through. It was an uncomfortable job which did make me properly seasick for the first time in many years, (20 to 25kts of wind) but I now have an improvised solution consisting of a cable running from the locker to the saloon where I can operate the solenoid valve by plugging and unplugging it into the emergency powerpack that we carry.

I am tired after the uncomfortable going of the last few days but spirits are improving. It is good to be in radio contact with ‘Fia Tera’ and ‘Luna Quest’ (both of whom offered me their spare regulators if I needed them. I guess LQ vis about 30 miles away and FT about 60. We are all heading for the UK. I can’t wait to arrive and then to press on for home waters to be with my girls again after all this time.

Later- Wind veered and dropped so now only making 3.8Kts and south of my preferred course. Must be patient!

1550 UTC 39 45N 25 34W COG 160T 2knots. Last 24hrs logged 107. To Plymouth 1102nm.

We didn’t leave until nearly 4pm yesterday - waiting for the wind to start to moderate and back. Then good progress until the evening conference with the weather man Herb. He suggests we hang south of 40N for a day or so and not go north of 43N until Thursday because the Low to the north is slow to move off.

We will know more tonight. I hope that by Tuesday or Wednesday we will have good weather and pleasant sail for home but time will tell. It seems that the weather has been against us for weeks and weeks so I feel I deserve a spell of good luck with it.

Right now we are hove to, not because of difficult conditions but because I don’t want to make any more northing and am not sure when to head east or north east. Currently drifting south at 2knots which is not getting me any closer to home. Dammn these Lows! I am so fed up with it.

It has gone noon and still blowing a little too strongly. There is no =
point in setting out into strong headwinds when we know that they are =
due to Back and moderate this afternoon. Not least is the =
consideration of getting out of the marina without hitting anything. =
That should be easier with a little less wind.

If we had to get stuck somewhere, as we have this week, Pria De =
Vitoria was a good choice. A marina berth at only 7 Euros a day, good =
facilities, a friendly community and free wi-fi internet and =
electricity onboard. We took several excursions by bus and saw a good =
bit of the island.

Agriculture is very strong here with dairy playing a big part. Plants =
seem to grow with abandon in the rich volcanic soil. Yesterday we =
managed to find a small restaurant packed with locals where we ate a =
wonderful fish dish and enjoyed some superb local wine for around 15 =
Euros a head. Living is very cheap compared to England.

Warned by Susie that I will be shocked when I get home by the prices =
in the UK, I made a point of going ashore this morning to look for =
clothes and managed to buy two pairs of cotton chino trousers for =A38 =
each!

It is something of a shame that it was not next week that we found =
ourselves weatherbound here as the town is gearing up for a major =
fiesta. Tables and chairs are being set out, stages assembled and =
local musicians are beginning to appear on the streets. Boy Scouts are =
selling raffle tickets on the High Street. The event kicks off tonight =
with a major bull fight in the streets of the town - a much more =
serious affair than last Sunday’s on the beach.

Once this current Low blows through there is one more to come before =
the High pressure takes control. So long as it stays to the south west =
of us we should enjoy NW winds for most of the passage. We should also =
have sunshine which will make a nice change. I have rarely seen the =
sun this month.

After so much waiting I think we have a reasonable window to depart of =
the UK.

Three boats will be leaving today (Saturday) ‘Fai Tera’, ‘Lune Quest’ =
and ‘Tabitha’. We are all similarly matched boats and all heading for =
the UK so we will be keeping in touch with each other. One final Low =
is still clearing as I type so not to sure what time today we will be =
able to go. probably noonish.

I am a bit more apprehensive about this leg than I have been with the =
others. Perhaps because it is not far to go. Perhaps because I have =
been too long in port. Who knows!

There are 4 or 5 boats in the marina all anxiously watching the =
weather to see when they may get a chance to leave. The situation is =
complicated which makes it very difficult and fuels a great deal of =
anxious talk between boats. I find this makes me very tense.

There is no clear shot to head for England so I will have to go with =
what I’ve get so long as it doesn’t look too bad. I think I could be =
here for months if I wait for the ideal weather pattern.

Several of the boats are heading for NW Spain so that they can then =
spring across the Bay of Biscay but this is a somewhat circuitous =
route which I don’t really favour unless the weather pushes that way.

We enjoyed a really nice curry aboard ‘Fia Tira’ last night. Good =
company with, as we find so often, a good representation of sailors =
from the East coast of UK. It is so nice to be able to talk about home =
waters. I can’t wait to be there.

I baked bread today but with the accident that I placed it on the =
engine to rise but forgot about it and it spilled out of the bread =
tins and onto the engine. It is impossible to remove it all so I will =
have an engine with a nice bread crust when I run it tomorrow.

LATER - Herb says wait. We could leave tomorrow (Thursday) but there =
is a Low coming through on Friday night which could cause trouble. So =
often the good advice is leave just after the Low blows through so =
that is what we should do.
So now we wait with hopes for Saturday.

What a difference the internet makes. During the day I can get Wi-Fi onboard which means I can listen to Radio 4 all day and phone home virtually for free. Over the last few days I have spent almost 4 hours on the phone home and now feel completely at ease with my situation. I had no idea it would make such a difference. A good night’s sleep may also have helped.

The day has been spent on small maintenance jobs with the occasional glimpse at weather forecasts on the internet. Perhaps I will get the opportunity to leave later in the week but I hesitate to get my hopes up too high.

The bull fight on the beach was really bull running - the whole town assembled on the promenade whilst on the beach below its young manhood (12-17yr olds) taunted a bull to show how macho they are. I’m afraid it did not sustain our interest for very long.

Tomorrow the boys from Luna Quest and I are planning a day of site-seeing though I am not sure what that will really mean. We also have invitations for a curry aboard another boat which I am looking forward to.

In the company of the Rival 38 ‘Luna Quest’ we sailed from Horta at =
noon Saturday with a hopes of a fast passage to the UK in winds that =
would be boisterous but always from a good angle. It was a pleasant =
sail though I did have some anxiety about the weather we might find =
further north.

Checking the weather with Herb it was a real setback to find that a =
new secondary low had formed to the west which would mean that the low =
ahead of us would hang around rather than move away. We could expect =
strong winds building to gales over a few days. Herb thought this =
would build seas which are difficult to us to make progress against.

He advised us not to head north but to head east or head for Lisbon or =
San Miguel (Azores). It is difficult to proceed against that kind of =
advice and we didn’t want to head to far east and get stuck there =
instead so we sailed through the night east south east to the island =
of Terceira (Azores) and the town of Praia da Vitoria. We arrived here =
at first light this morning.

I do not need to say how depressing this is. It is pretty clear that =
their won’t be a weather window for at least 5 days and probably =
longer. The unusual weather pattern shows no sign whatever of =
reverting to normal.

Praia da Vitoria is a much quieter place than Horta which makes a nice =
change. It is also much cheaper (about 7 Euros a night for Tabitha =
with free wi-fi onboard and electricity on the key. This great =
combination means that I can listen to Radio 4 and make telephone =
calls using Skype from the boat. I could be quite comfortable here if =
I could overcome my homesickness.

Several other boats arrived having made the same decision as us so =
there are plenty of people to moan with.

Tonight is a fiesta and apparently there is a bullfight on the beach - =
not quite sure how but we shall see.

There is an airport only 4 minutes away and it costs and I have =
already found out that a return flight to Gatwick costs =A3380. You =
can see how my mind was working - but not seriously.

What I really need is a major project on the boat to keep me busy. =
Unfortunately with the weather we can expect over the next few days it =
will need to be an indoor job!