Killing time in rota 27th June to 1st July

Friday: Washed the boat, had a rest and organised a hire car for tomorrow.
Saturday: Went into Gibraltar for spares and sightseeing. Now have an 11mm spanner for the next time I have to replace an impellor.

Visited the caves and tunnels in the rock and saw a naughty barbary ape indulge in some petty larceny (see video).

Pictures Siege tunnels, Jay and Ankie in Gibraltar, European cup final in Spanish square .

On Sunday watched European cup final in the square with thousands of Spaniards who were very very happy with the result - great atmosphere!

Monday: Bought huge adjustable spanners for rigging, also transmisison fluid for autopilot and then got weather from I'net cafe ready for departure and sent Kim some flowers by Interflora as I am missing her and the kids.

Tuesday: Odd jobs including checking the electrolyte levels in the 102 battery cells onboard. Paid Marina and departed at 3pm. First Video "monkey steals monkey". Second Video "Spain scores in cup final"

Weather again - log miles 121

Making no headway against the wind and sea during the night so headed for Cadiz. Found space in Rota marina. Filled up with diesel and docked (reversed in starboard-to against the wind on a nice easy T-berth). Stopping was not a bad thing as the shaft seal in the autopillot had failed and we were very low on fluid. Tidied boat, went to hunt for stern-gland grease and dinner.

Always the size you don't have! - log miles 134

The Generator failed in the early hours leaving us with no option but sailing. The raw water impellor had broken up and although we have a spare the lack of an 11mm spanner made this a very fiddly job. I did a long watch once we got started as I had the most sleep (the failure occurred just after my watch). Rounded cape St Vincent at 13:00 and Cap de Sagres at 14:50. Protected for the first time from the raw Northerly wind the weather immediately turned blissfully warm so I decided it was time to drop the foul weather gear in favour of a t-shirt and shorts.

During the day we were visited by dolphins and a very curious turtle.

An hour in Portugal - log miles 146

My shortest ever visit to a new country today as we went in and out of Cascais in Portugal to refuel and saw the Queen Mary 2 on the way out. We passed 40 North at about 2am.

Gennaker Up - log miles 145

Got the Gennaker set for the first time and only ran the generator for two hours today. The Gennaker is a bit small and needs a leech line which I will have added in Corfu. We are now running late to meet Kim and the kids on the 7th as planned particularly if we hit another weather delay. I will ask Kim to change the flights for the following week which I am sad about as I am missing the family and it loses us time together.

Gull Winged and Barber Hauled - log miles 79

I started the day with an hour of maneuvering practice in calm water which was very valuable particularly in relation to reversing where Haku doesn't respond like a monohull and at low speed is better steered with differential motor use.

We motored out to the N/S coast and started sailing at which point we saw a pilot whale.

I fitted the cockpit cushion press studs to the seats so we could begin to use them without risk of them flying overboard - much more comfortable then made a nice Chilli for dinner as I was on galley duty.

We set the sails to goose wing as the wind is 150 degrees to Starboard and rigged a barber-hauler to stop the genoa coming back across. A lot of the extra gear I bought in Hamble is starting to become useful. We are looking forward to reaching 40 North where Jay assures us it will magically become warmer.

Killing time in La Coruna

Thursday 19th June to Saturday 21st June. Did gel coat repair to fix Hamble scratch (good learning experience). Had dinner on Friday with a nice couple from the UK (Richard and Kirsten) on the next boat. Fixed some of the new boat niggles and did another generator service. We also had time to watch some of the European cup matches, a bizarre puppet show in the main square and for Jay to buy a new spotter scope. The weather has improved and we hope to get underway in the morning.

Weather diversion La Coruna - log miles 146

We didn’t beat the low which means we are sailing into the wind and increasing seas. At the point we couldn't make better than 4kts we decided to put into La Coruna to wait it out. This means we lose 6 hours in and out plus our wait time.

On the way in we passed the 400 year old lighthouse which is the oldest working one in the world.

At the marina an attendant tried to put us in too tight a berth and we had to argue like mad to get a proper sized one whilst I was standing on the pontoon with my back pressed against the hull to stop us getting damaged. By the time we got in properly I was exhausted. Sailing in even a moderate sea is like exercising on a vibrating plate where muscles are constantly working to maintain stability and after four days I am looking forward to a proper nights sleep. Hopefuly my fitness levels will improve over the next few weeks.

Dolphin dawn - log miles 165

Now into Biscay and a great dawn watch. For a while I kept hearing odd noises and then realized it was dolphins. There were 15 or so playing around the bows for at least half an hour. I took some video and stills and just sat watching, a magnificent start to the day. We sailed most of my watch which was a nice change. We are on a 22 day timeline 4 of which were wasted on delays before leaving so if we fall below about 6 knots we motor sail plus we need to pass Finisterre before the low pressure moves in. We are much faster when we are sailing and have a best speed so far of 11.7 knots with a more usual 9.

France sans chocolate - log miles 139

We arrived at Camaret-sur-Mer for an early fuel stop. I walked around the bay past all the retired fishing vessels and a charming old fisherman’s chapel to get Croissants, a big pan and a Wok while Jay and Ankie fueled. Delivery crews know lots of neat tricks like sloshing cheap washing up liquid under the fillers and overflows to make it easy to clean up diesel spills. Seems we must have left one Tesco bag at the checkout and the bad news is it was all the Chocolate. Spotted this too late to top up here.

First night watch - log miles 118

My day started at Midnight with my first night watch and first channel crossing. After about 10 minutes Jay rushed up to see why I had increased power and I realized I had leant on the throttles while maintaining lookout (Oops). I am very conscious that every day is likely to bring some new record or “first” for me for quite a while.

OhnoIscratchedmyshinynewboat!

Off at last but not without incident. I took the boat away from dock (wind pushing us onto the dock) and bumped the back on someone’s metal bowsprit scratching the gel and the “Hakuna Matata” transfer. At the time I thought I’d made a mistake with the throttles but what actually happened is that an engine cut which happens if the throttle power is very rapidly from hard forward to hard reverse which now we know about we are able to avoid. The boat being electric gives the impression you can do anything with the engines but they still need some respect even if not to the same extent as a diesel. Fuelled up and then out to the needles (pictured) and on course for Start point. We are now officially on the 3 day rotating watch system and today is day 1.

3 Day rotating watch system.

Day	1	2	3
00-03 (Galley Duty)	Jay	Chris	Ankie
03-06	Chris	Ankie	Jay
06-09 (Cockpit Swill)	Ankie	Jay	Chris
09-11	Jay	Chris	Ankie
11-13	Chris	Ankie	Jay
13-15	Ankie	Jay	Chris
15-17	Chris	Ankie	Jay
17-19	Ankie	Jay	Chris
19-21	Chris	Ankie	Jay
21-00	Jay	Chris	Ankie

Not pushing our luck

Friday June 13^th. Spent 3 hours provisioning in Tesco and we are ready to go. Jay won’t sail today as he considers it bad luck. I have a feeling that if I push it I will end up owning any bad luck on the way. Today we tuned up the rigging, installed the solar panel and I got some Euros. Mum, Bill and Tina came to Hamble for a goodbye dinner at the Victory.

Getting ready to depart

My name is Chris Horseman and the first part of this family blog is mine. I am taking a sailing sabatical from June 2008 to September 2009. Because we think that house prices are going to crash and as a result the financial system is going to melt down we decided to sell the house, hibernate our finances as safely as possible and basically be somewhere else.

I am only a "day skipper" with Yachtmaster theory but I have a couple of decades of navigation and weather planning experience as a private pilot that I am hoping will help at least a bit.

Last year we had our first yacht based holiday in Greece with me as skipper and a good time was had by all despite Kim's avowed terror of the sea.

I decided we should buy a small yacht for the trip but as it included a requirement to home school the children for a couple of terms we ended up with something rather bigger, namely a 42ft Catamaran.

In order to make sure I can handle the boat and the trip we have planned while keeping everyone safe I have organised a sort of "Super course" for myself with a very experienced delivery skipper (Jay) from PYD who is going to instruct me in all things necessary for a seaman from provisioning to astral navigation over a journey of 2,500 nautical miles incorporating the channel, the fabled bay of Biscay, the straits of Gibraltar and Medina and some long unbroken passages.

Jay and Ankie our mate have been on-board for two days but we keep getting little delays. I keep re-stowing things to improve access and buying things for the boat (today oil change pump, generator spares, crash gonad!) so every day in port adds more cost. Hopefully we are now nearly ready to depart. I bought “Swallows and Amazons” for Alex, started to read it and was immediately captivated. I had planned to save it for the trip but decided to ask Kim to get him a copy to read before he comes out. We serviced the generator (New oil and filters), tested Sat phone and did lots of clearing up.

Mum, Tina, Ian and Alex go for a ride to the Isle of Wight (Picture)