Blog #38 Porto Santo
Cassini's blog
Simon and Sally, Nigel and Catherine
Sun 8 Oct 2023 09:54
| Porto Santo After 4 nights, almost 100 hours and just less than 500 miles on passage we arrived at Porto Santo on Friday afternoon. We did it!! Our husbands were great, they did 3hr watches throughout the night starting at 21.00 which meant Sally and I could sleep. The hydrovane steering enabled us to sail without having to hand steer, occasional tweeks of the hydrovane, wheel or sails was all that was needed. We were fortunate with the weather; whilst the wind was not always as strong as we'd like, we sailed the whole journey. It was the first time since we left UK we have achieved days without motoring. We put the engine on once on Thursday evening for about 1.5 hours to top up the batteries. Simon was concerned the light winds and a cloudy day meant our generators had not produced enough power. Porto Santo was our plan B, which seems to have been a frequent occurrence of the trip. Funchal marina was full but the books said this island had an anchorage outside the harbour but sheltered from the prevailing winds. Guess what, the forecast wind was easterly meaning it would not be a quiet anchorage. After our long journey we all needed some decent sleep. The marina here was also full. Panic! There is anchoring in the inner harbour but not a lot of space, we came in with fingers crossed and managed to anchor - all mightily relieved. Friday afternoon was busy completing the paperwork with customs and the marina office - must be done at every stop. A visit to the supermarket for supplies, back to the boat to unload then ashore again for long hot showers followed by drinks in the bar. After a good sleep, the next priority was the laundry. The marina has only 1 domestic washer and a queue of several bags of washing so we opted for a walk into town to the launderette. I'm becoming a big fan of 17kg capacity washers! An afternoon of catching up with messages, admin, phone calls to our families after days without communication. Then back in the dinghy to go to the beach for a refreshing fun swim. Another long shower, another visit to the bar! I'm glad I did the trip. Another achievement for me. Having reasonable sleep helped so I'm very grateful Nigel and Simon took the night watches. Those two can nap anywhere, anytime! Moving around the boat can be tricky, it's a bit like being on a bouncy castle and trying to cook, make drinks, dress, etc whilst trying to remain upright! We are planning to go to Tenerife next, marina space permitting. My sister will be there so a chance to see her and show her Cassini. Catherine Fishing success      Flying fish ‘flew’ onboard overnight - discovered in the morning. On passage     |
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