The final Leg: Falmouth to Solent

We sat through the chilly rain and gales until Sunday 17th am when the wind suddenly stopped, leaving us just a bright chilly stillness. A quick refuel and we were away for the up-channel dash to the Solent.  Anchored in Falmouth roadstead was a newly arrived (from Horta) ARC yacht Chiscos, so we hailed them (a cheerful bedraggled gale-weary skipper John) a welcome and farewell. The first few hours gave us a nice day out with a gentle breeze. The asymmetric spinny is up for the first time in ages and takes us as far as Start Point and dusk. Skipper’s very last on-passage supper (after 9 months of crew-feeding) is a home-made chicken chow mein. It must have been OK because even Ken joined in and managed a second helping, without recourse to the black bucket.   Zero wind overnight so Betty Beta called to duty for the rest of the 150 mile passage. Our last full day and night at sea gave us a pleasant 20 hours of passage watchkeeping and ship avoidance, mostly under engine. We just made it into the solent against the growing ebb by mid morning on Monday 18th. We anchor in crazily swirling wind over tide cross eddies at Keyhaven to hide from the ebb tide and for a short snoozelet and lunch. Early afternoon, much hooting, cheering, waving, and blasting, saw the arrival of our welcome committee of Graham, Geoff, & Anne on Shiatzu, another Oceanranger 38, sailing fast around us in impressively tight circles. Their welcome present of a Tiffins apple fruitcake was well-thrown but skipper Mike’s butter fingers saw it lost to the oggin astern. A Fruitcake Overboard evolution was carried out but even the well-sailed Shiatzu failed to retrieve it.  Great afternoon downwind sail, in company with Shiatzu, against a choppy tide, for a joint Cowes harbour ceremonial entrance. By tea time we are alongside in Shepherds wharf with all flags up, cockpit table up, rum punch made, small eats out. Shiatzu team arrive with more party provisions. The Cowes Buggy team of sons, nephews, great nephews & nieces, dogs etc,  arrive to swell the party numbers and general chaos onto the pontoon. Food and beer follows later ashore in the Pier View.

End (nearly) of a great trip. Almost 10,000 miles in nearly 10 months! And we’re all still talking, and the  boat is still in one piece. Skipper, however, looks quite mad and has long wispy sticky-out hair.

Tuesday 19th in Cowes is a quiet break day to visit family and join them for an evening BBQ. Bill Lewis sadly has to leave us as duty calls at home. Michael and crew, brother Ken, plan the final assault on Hornet, at Gosport, on the morrow. With the help of Stewart at Hornet we plan to get Raparee back into a home berth, and so will finally end one hell of a trip. Rod and Christine Chadwick, our very able and supportive local helpers, will be there to meet us. Their help has been invaluable, even to the point of mail sorting, house and admin watching, and getting the car recommissioned and usable.  

About 20 countries/islands visited and about 20 visting crew over 10000 miles. Mostly sailing, but also 780 engine hours (about 7 years worth!!). 1.5 tonnes of fuel. Thanks again to everyone who helped with weather, provisioning, crewing, etc and for all your support and encouragement.

I may pen a final postscript later this week after arrival home.I will also try to post some photos on this site once I get on line at home.

Not yet decided on future of blogsite.......further travels are planned........probably Baltic exploration next year.

Slainte
Skipper MIKE
RAPAREE
at COWES

Thursday 7th & Friday 8th

Full Irish breakfast and shower at Mike McLaughlin’s excellent B&B, Desmond House. Farewells to David and his lovely McAvinchey family. Miraculously, David survived the skipper and boat for an astonishing 42 days!. Must be a record. Time for a brief crew-free day of work onboard and to get to know Noel on his boat next door, Brian the duty marina manager, and the staff and good folk at the busy and welcoming KYC.

In the marina I find the Swan 40 Quid Non? with skipper Nigel Philpott and crew Des Crampton, both of whom I knew from the AZAB (AZORES) race 5 years ago. They were in the Plymouth to Newport RI USA 2 handed race but had to drop into Kinsale due to engine problems. They are finally ready to go next day so I present them with some of Raparee’s store of whiskey and fruitcake to help them celebrate their (future) half way point.

Sun 10th Joined for the day by new crew Ken Buggy. Wife Kay, and brother Simon came along for the day to see us off. We walk the river bank and across the Bandon River bridge to the Dock Pub to see if Robby the retired jockey is still in charge and if the Guinness is just as good. It is. After a meal ashore Ken &Simon stay onboard overnight.

Marina full of semi-tame herons. Herons fighting seagulls. Noisy fishing boats. Grain loading and dust and trucks.  A brave Seal lives in the harbour and competes with the trawlers and oil spills.

Monday 11th is spent in familiarisation training for Ken and refuelling up-harbour at Castlepark Marina. PM 3rd crewmember Bill Lewis is kindly picked up at the airport by Mike McLaughlin, whom we join for a pleasant and talkative evening ashore.

12th June

0700 Slip and proceed into a windless grey and cold dawn. Sails up in the beautiful harbour entrance and set course 138M through the gasfield rigs directly for Lands End and the Longships Light. A very long day of motorsailing and slow goosewinging and gybing as the cold fickle wind goes up and down and dances around the clock. The lack of a beam wind means we roll unsteadily and poor Ken succumbs to Mal de Mer and gains a new best mate, the big black bucket. Soon back into our 3 hour watchkeeping routine, our rolling, plodding, progress continues for another tiresome 30 hours.

Early AM on the 13th saw us skirting around the traffic zone north of the Scillies, and trying to avoid wayward trawlers and tankers. By 1130, Longships is abeam with the tourist tat excresced Lands End ahead. Plod on across all those lovely bays and headlands and past the Manacles and by 2000 we down sails by Black Rock in Falmouth harbour entrance. Falmouth berths are crowded with weary waiting travellers like us because big dirty winds are expected and space is at a premium.  The Visitor’s Yacht Haven is the place of choice for proper cruising folk, the nicely wierd and wacky, and the less posh such as ourselves  Its tight but we squeeze backwards into a raft of bateaux and, that’s it folks, we’re back in the UKKK.

Plan A was to leave on the morrow for a welcome gathering on ther Yealm 40 miles away, but that big metrological spiral andromeda galaxy is on the way so I guess we’re in for a long wait in our raft. The Haven is toppers with gaffers and baggywrinkle, bowsprits and bumpkins, and blokes with dreadlocks. The Chainlocker is as busy as ever but the Doom Bar and Betty Stoggs are well worth the wait. Mmmm warm beer! Thats wierd!

Anyway the wind whirlygig arrived, and boy did it blow, and rain, so plan A, and our onward progression to the Solent has to be delayed a few days.  At least there are plenty of diversions in Falmouth....its the Shanty Festival (get your finger in your ear) and also the spectacular J-class boats are gathering for a week of racing. 

The final transatlantic days

Monday 4th June

A VERY rough and windy afternoon, with much rolling and crashing about, but making good speed under well reefed rig. Knackered so revert to large tin of Ravioli for supper. Total wind change by evening time sees us trickling along in a dying breeze from astern. From what we had read and heard about the weather, a very big depression, and future gale, was building fast to the south of us and heading toward Ireland, and it was imperative that we get in somewhere by Wednesday night. The problem was that we now dont have quite enough fuel, and it looks like neither will we have quite enough wind. if it falls as it is predicted to.

Tuesday 5th

Its 0330 and we have a rolling swell but calm big moon with beautiful sky. Wind up and down all over the place so much sail tweaking. Engine on/off. Eventually more on than off, so fuel usage become even more of a real worry. With much effing and blinding cockpit locker disgorged in the early hours to retrieve the last jerry can so we can jigger more fuel in. Well, mainly over skippers shoes, as usual.

Goosewinging all day and at 1500 we cross over continental shelf. Goodbye to the ocean blue’s quink-ink seas and hello to murky grey. Wind now really fluky and light and we are trying hard wth every ounce of sail to get a move on. We are now committed to almost continuous motorsailing while trying to find the most fuel efficient revs and speed. By evening, its grey, raining, and  overcast. Welcome to t’northern summer folks.

Wednesday 6th

0040 and lights sighted 20 miles ahead through the gloom. Double check on chart. Yes! Mizen Hd to port and Fastnet to Starboard. Wind now dropped to a zephyr right on the bluuuuudy nose. We decide to go inside the Fastnet so that we can  ‘round it’ before heading on for Kinsale. Slogging away, we make it by 0400 on a cold, clear, and calm night, with a full moon, we toast ourselves, our trip, and the rock, with a glass of Horta wine and a liberal dose of Jamiesons Whiskey. Photosessions with boat, crew, moon, and Fastnet Light.  

Skipper knackered and retires zombie-like. Time for Dave to take us on a dampish dawn cruise along this photogenic coastline of craggy islands, heather clad headlands and hills, and romantic harbours. Still no useful wind and fuel is now a real worry. We seriously consider Baltimore or Glandore as possible refuelling places.

Baltimore by the way was the victim of one of Europe’s biggest 17thC acts of piracy. A squadron of Barbary pirates arrived early one morning, alas, not for pints of Guinness, but to take away the whole population into slavery. Very few returned again to their old home.

Thankfully, the zephyr at last turns into a fine westerly by mid morning and soon we are running along the spectacular coast between 7 heads and Old Head of Kinsale. A couple of fast and hairy gybes later we find ourselves entering Kinsale, the mouth of the River Bandon. A lovely well protected harbour guarded on both sides by impressive 17thC fortifications. Kinsale was the site of the final stand of the ancient Irish chieftancy against the might of Queen Elizabeth. The Irish were only feebly supported by their allies, the Spanish, and finally they lost to the superior English forces. In the months after the battle, the old Gaelic earldoms were forced to surrender their powers and lands and most of the ancient aristocracy fled abroad to form regiments, and dynasties,  in the Spanish, French, Italian, and later, South American theatres.

Anyway, enough of that stuff. We finally raft up alongside Kinsale Marina at 1500 after 9 days,15 hrs and 1225 miles from Horta. (3927 miles sailed from St Barths, WI).Berth arranged with help from local man Mike McLaughlin, whom we’d met in St Lucia on his boat ‘Transcendence’. Ashore to YC for many pints of Murphys.

The rest of the week was taken up with family reunions and comparative tastings of Murphys, Beamish, and Guinness. Jury still out on the results. Also of course storing and repairing stuff.

Next leg to Falmouth, and UK south coast, begins 12th June.  Crew will be skipper, plus RNSA member, and Raparee No1 mate on earlier legs, Bill Lewis from Kent, and Ken Buggy, celebrated hotelier and chef from Waterford. Being a novice to this game, Ken is extremely apprenhensive......but once settled, the food will be great!.

More later.

Thurs 31st May-Sat 2nd June - The ho-hum days

 It's Thursday midnight, some 450 miles west of NW Spain's C.Finisterre, and boy, had we fallen in a hole!. Grey, wet, and cold, with variable winds. Main back up but genoa furled and we're going nowhere fast on an oily swell. Betty Beta working tirelessly. MB always on edge listening for sounds and symptoms. Was that gearbox oil change in Horta OK? Should I have done an engine oil change as well?. Whats that strange vibration? Our 3 hour night-time watches are drippingly and boringly unpleasant. Where is the scrimshawing and holystoning now? There is talk of thunderstorms. Hmm, we're not ready for that yet. Lightning is a major threat to small yachts, and a strike is likely to write off ALL electronics and most electrics, leaving no usable instruments or navaids. The engine and charging system are also likely to be u/s. Not only many £££££'s and time consuming to fix but navigationally challenging.
Half way (to Fastnet) possibly around midnight Friday but that seems an age away.
Fridge hoiked out and sanitised. No longer smells like dead animal. Our cockroaches are small and slow, and obviously don't like the weather.
Crew now reduced to quipping in half remembered school latin and torturing verbs in rusty RTE Irish. This is a boat full of old people and dead languages. On the whole, Thursday was pretty poo. Locked in a trough of despond with hours of motor sailing, gybing and crashing about the place in a cold grey mizzle. The sort of long boring day that stretches patience and leadership.
Friday 2nd is a vastly better day with some light SW zephyrs to play with. Sadly not all in the right direction or strong enough yet to give Betty a rest, but great for a gentle rolly all day goosewinged motor sail with all sail set. David fishes and reads while MB does time wasting DIY jobs and splashes detergent nonchalantly over his few shore-going rags, in the vain hope that he may cut a dash in Kinsale. A lovely evening and sunset on a big gentle swell. Beer and peanuts for sunset and and all-portuguese meal of spicy sausage, mini- potatoes and beans. All this food! We have now doubled in size and have finally realised that we eat too well and that circuits and pressups on the foredeck may soon be required. Also looking in the mirror, skipper realises that he is not only a bit old but also weirdly scruffy.
Talking about wierd....a question for any reader to google....why do dolphins like to ride and play in boats bow waves? They're actually smiling while they do it. And they look at you as if to say.....aren't i great, doing this? Are they just using the pressure wave to fish, or are they really playing?. Prizes for the best answers.
At 0100 Saturday 2nd, we got to our Horta to Fastnet halfway point and, as if to celebrate, a chilly 16kts breeze appears so its out genoa and time to give Betty a rest after many hours on the go.
Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. Not much wind, chilly, and rolly, but a beautiful sea and sky. Goosewinged main and genoa most of day, but lost wind again by afternoon, so Betty Beta doing her stuff again. David takes on a noonsight challenge with the sextant.....but accuracy falls victim to the giant swells and our rapid rolling.
Our position on a cold but glorious jubilee Sat aft 2nd June at 1700 GMT 46D17N 17D41W. Slow moving in light airs some 450 miles SSW of Fastnet
M & D on Raparee

Thursday 31st May

Thursday 31st starts off boring grey and windy and becomes distinctly more unpleasant when the wind decides to drop in strength and go round in circles. The sky lowers to the sea so we are enveloped in grey drizzle. The waves stay huge and confused so we are thrown around without the benefit of a consistent wind to stabilise us and hold us upright. Our sails slat and crash around uselessly and poor old Betty the Beta is called up for a long slog of duty. So much has spilt in the cool box fridge thingy that a total empty out and disenfecting session is called for. A pain in the butt at zero heel, but at an irregular +/-30 degree fling, the job calls for patience.
As for progress, the current slow boring grey lumpy damp conditions are expected to last another 36 hours!
Note that at sea, we only use the radio spasmodically as there are only certain times when propagation for digital data is possible. When transmitting, we need to have both crew up, the engine running, and one of us on the wheel. Usually David has to extend his watch to do the steering, as Mike is the radio comms person. The engine has to be used because digital data transmissions use 100% full power continuously. Transmission can also cause much interference to navigation and autohelm systems. Finding and establishing contact with a sailmail base station in range and which is not busy can also take ages.
Progress has been disappointingly slow so far, but we will shortly be 1 month and over 3000 miles from St Barts, with 6 or 7 days left to go to the Fastnet Rock off SW Ireland.
M&D on R

27th - 30th May - Frustrating last days of a seagoing month

 Sunday 27th, was a rainy but pleasant day of preps, shopping, customs, immigration, berth payment etc and a final visit to Peter's bar for steak, chips, and beer. Also met many old friends and acquaintances. We slipped from Horta at 1000 on Monday 28th with waves and farewells to friends old and new. A pleasant rolly quartering wind and sea takes us goosewinged out between the islands to give us a glimpse of Pico, Terceria, and Graciosa. Pico's huge peak seems permanently covered in a cloud cap, and the island is often in shade and looking a bit gloomy. Finally clear of land by 1800 and back into a big ocean swell. We are overtaken by a huge modern ketch with carbon bowsprit, counter stern, and teak deckhouses. She is strange mix of victorian, edwardian and space age and not to everyone's taste.
Studying our weather advice in detail makes us wonder if it was wise to leave as there is a big low with a gale forming up just to the N and W of us. We will need to get some easting in PDQ if we are not to be hammered too much. Skipper's pork escalopes and spuds for supper and we get the storm jib lashed on deck. At sunset we are passed by Scandanavian square-rigger Gunilla, a jolly fine sight.
Night falls to give us an orange segment of moon, and a flurry of dolphin visits.
Tuesday 29th is a working breezy day starting with spicy mushroom scrambled eggs. We manage some poled out off-wind sailing and try to receive Herb (The famous Atlantic weather man) on the SSB hiss-box. During the day, the Atlantic rollers start building big-time, and we start reefing down as the wind rises before the large developing low northwest of us. By nightfall it is chilly and dark, as the skipper curses galley spillages and crashes needed to get out a chicken curry. Using all our balancing skills, we have our curry and beer below decks . Later on, rising wet and misty winds, and the occasional narrowly missed passing ships seen through the murk, and on ais, enliven our watchkeeping.
Wednesday 30th is hugely windy and rolly with mighty waves tossing us about scarily. The gale is set to last all day and well into tomorrow. Autohelm is doing a sterling job, although power use will mean more engine running. At least the rain is holding off. By 1800 we have huge following seas, so we decide to drop the main and run under rolled genoa . This makes us even more rolly but is less of a steering load.

22-27 May – Horta - The mid-Atlantic interlude

Tuesday 22nd continued squally and rolly but moderating enough to get the main up with 3, but eventually 2, reefs. A standard working day with average progress and more ships appearing.  Squalls and big seas reappeared on Tuesday night but with the wind now well aft on our port quarter so we are sailing at a good speed on a near gybing course. By the early hours of Wednesday, the distant glow of the Azores in visible and by 0400 we can see the peak of Pico (which, despite being 500 miles offshore is claimed as the highest Portuguese mountain). Our dawn approach to Faial is a bit tricky because we have constant showers and squalls, and a ginormous following sea, and are close to gybing, but we manage to gradually ease around to skim the south face of the island, and begin our approach to the capital, and major port, Horta.  So, on day 22 (21.5 days, 2700 miles from St Barts) we secure alongside the visitors pontoon at Horta marina, clear customs, and formally re-enter Europe, some 6 months after leaving the Canaries.

Our time in Horta is spent on boat work and provisioning, and eating normal solid food, always with chips.David got the job of painting the ship’s crest on the wall, along with the 10,000 others here. Every surface, bollard, structure, wall, jetty, etc is covered with 1000’s of badges and names. Dockside shops even sell the paints and brushes for the job.  

Alas the weather hasn’t been good enough for island sight-seeing, but Horta itself is a pleasant enough place with plenty of old buildings to see.

Good bars and restaurants with local Portuguese fare, and we even happened on a great Fado night in a local cafe, with great singers and musicians. Wasn’t a fan before but now truly converted.

The harbour is rapidly filling with ocean travelling yachts as this is the beginning of the Atlantic return crossing season and Horta’s busiest time. We are lucky to get a decent berth as more recent arrivals are being rafted up by day 3. We’ve managed to catch up and renew friendships with lots of familiar faces and boats from our trip out and from the WI’s.

By Sunday 27th, its raining heavily and we’ve delayed our sailing date by a day so far as a great big low is forming up and we are all waiting to see what it does. Time for more jobs below.

We are still looking at a 10 day dash to Kinsale, probably with big following winds, so we need to have our downwind procedures well organised. More poling out practice when the rain stops.

M & D

Raparee, Horta, Faial, Azores