Friday 12th September 2025. Porto Santo, Madeira.
450 miles, 4 1/2 days. One tack nearly all the way, 80% of it fully reefed. I'm glad that's over.
The island of Madeira and its little satellite Port Santo.
Port Santo, a beautiful anchorage. The sea is bright blue and clear, I'm in 5 metres of water and can see the ripples of sand on the bottom and my anchor dug in, it's like being in a swimming pool.
Sunday 14th.
Went for a walk around the east end of the island.
And I had a fleeting glimpse of this bird. The Hoopoe.
I made the mistake of picking up a prickly pear, supposedly you can eat them. I thought the prickles were the things you can see but they're small like tiny shards of glass, really annoying and all over my fingers, you cant see them to remove them. Duct tape is the answer, lots of it. Thanks Google. I'll open it up and see what's inside later.
That must be about the most satisfying 'red line' you've drawn yet?! Well done. Enjoy your rest.
ReplyDeleteps. One tack nearly all the way, 80% of it fully reefed. ??what does this mean in layman terms
ReplyDeleteOne tack means that the wind was constantly from the same direction and I didn't have to switch the sails from one side to the other. Fully reefed means minimal sail area up because the wind was strong.
DeleteAn epic journey, well done. Glad you’ve arrived safely. Now get back to that scrabble, think I might be in with a chance of winning this one!
DeleteBrendan, glad you got there safely. Thought you might have tootled down the African coast and headed west. Are you off the The Canaries next?
ReplyDeleteMorocco was my original plan but I was put off the idea for a few reasons, Orcas, lots of floating fishing nets, unfriendly authorities supposedly uncomfortable sailing. I'll tackle the coast of Morocco the way back, not that it'll be any easier.
DeleteYes, a couple of weeks in Madeira then the Canaries.
Delete