The wind was good and fresh, about 25 kts SW. I decided best to put a reef in for the start. The sea state was a bit choppy and we didn't want to get anyone seasick right away...
After about a mile or so we were called on the vhf advising us to change course because we were running into the cables that were being laid out. I was down below talking to this man and he kept on talking urging me to change course or I would loose my boat. I confirmed the message and was on my way up when he started talking again... urging me to take action... Andy and Rutger had heard parts of it on the cockpit speaker but didn't understand all what was going on.
Anyway. I went up and we tacked and moved on.
The wind was supposed to decrease and veer to the west on Wednesday so we decided to first cross the channel and the go south under the shores of England. We steered around 285 not wanting to sail too close hauled when the wind picked up to 33-34 kts. We made very good speed, around 9-10 kts boat speed. Even though the overall direction was north of west, we thought we could make that up with the speed we made and the advantage of a veering wind next day...Since we left late afternoon and because of all the excitement, we weren't ready for the watch system I had planned for starting at 7 pm. After a while Rutger wasn't feeling too good and went down. Andy and I stayed up together. When the wind picked up, we put in a second reef and furled in the genoa a bit more. A force 7 was not in the forecast and also the marine safety messages from the Dutch coastguard only hold a warning for force 6....
Anyway, the sailing was good and with the second reef in I could still steer with two fingers only .
But as the night went on, not according to the watch system, we were getting a bit tiered. Also we didn't get to cook really, the sea sate was to choppy and we were not yet in a routine of any kind..
Next morning the wind finally around 8 am decreased. Actually, it went down to only 7 kts but did not veer. So to avoid going backwards because of the faul tide, we started the motor. We needed to power up the batteries anyway. After a while the wind picked up again but still didn't veer.... Tacking it was then :-) The wind picked up to over 30 kts again and still hadn't veered one bit...The weather was fine though and overnight it was all clear and full of stars. So we really enjoyed the sailing even though we didn't made a lot of progress.
We decided to make a stopover in Harwich for a good sleep and a good meal. We got in the Shotley marina around 4:30 and after tiding up the boat slept into the day :-)
Next 'morning' we had a great 'breakfast' in the sun and also a very nice shower to rinse off all the salt of two days. I also called Charlie who we'd pick up somewhere on the South coast. Unfortunately his back was still not too good and his doctor advised him not to take on the trip crossing Biscay. It would have been great to have Charlie joining us but not at the cost of his health.
Anyway, I'm checking on other possibilities, but if not, we'll do the crossing the three of us, providing the weather is good and the forecaster for once will deliver :-)
