Position 50:08.68N 05:01.74W

Last week was ridiculously intense at work.  In the back of my mind, I knew I wanted to go for a decent solo sail this weekend, but I was open-minded about where/how long.  The forecasts indicated heading West was a good idea, with the possibility of maybe then heading down towards the Channel Islands then back to Hayling.  But I wasn’t sure, and I couldn’t even begin to think about options until about 1500 on Friday when the list of issues, discussions, meetings and emails started to ease off.  I was tired – a few drinks and a late night with work on Tuesday had taken it’s toll, and by 1630 on Friday I knew I should probably go to the boat but I was in a bit of a fog about it.  So, on autopilot, I packed some clothes, called in at Coop and got some food, and went down to the club.  On the way I told Sarah of my plans; we had vaguely spoken about it but we hadn’t seen each other all week.  I got the club launch to the boat, and started to get ready.

After packing stuff away and getting the boat ready for sea, I dropped the mooring and motored up to Sparkes, where I filled with fuel and water.  It was low Springs and with our recent fun and games in the Beaulieu river in my mind (there is a shallow patch just downstream from Bucklers Hard – 1.2m below datum – who knew…) I had to creep up the channel to get to the marina.

With that all done, I set off, my intention to head Westwards round the back of the IOW and head towards the West Country.  To be honest, I had in my mind the peace of being out at sea and on my own, and a (slightly deluded) view that I would get some rest if I was offshore on my own.  So I set off and was off the Bar Beacon by 2000.  Wind was Westerly but I knew it was due to veer round, and by the time I’d close-reached over to Bembridge Ledge it was dropping and veering.  I settled in, and dodged the ships anchored in the lee of the island.  As I was texting Sarah, a large black shape appeared next to the boat – a big dolphin!  Gave me fright!  He didn’t hang around.

The first part of the night was uneventful.  The wind picked up as we got clear of the IOW.  I snatched some sleep – I am using my extra loud kitchen timer which I set to 20 mins, and I am managing to get some deep sleep in these intervals, although it is not great and you have to be very disciplined at ensuring you try and sleep almost all the time.  I reckon I;m getting about 2-3 hours a night.  Not nearly enough but it is hard in the channel as there is so much to run into.  I am looking forward to getting out of the Channel and off soundings.  I am figuring I will be able to have some longer sleeps when I am in open ocean, but will probably have 2 or so days at the start where the other competitors, and the shipping in the Western Approaches, means I’ve got to just take short naps.  I also have the AIS alarm on, but I haven’t been using the radar alarm; relying on having the active radar on instead.  Probably pragmatic except for those yachts & fishing boats who don’t have AIS or radar and therefore I’m blind to.

Halfway between the IOW and Portland, the wind started to increase.  I dropped the mizzen and then realised I was going to have to reef the main.  I wasn’t particularly keen as it was the middle of the night, it had started to rain, and it was already quite wild out.  Classic “reef early” failure, I had too much sail up, and Nutmeg was trying to round up.  The apparent wind had rocketed up and was anywhere between 22 and 27 kts – it was very gusty.  I went straight for 2 reefs and she calmed down and was fine.  It was a squall – we saw 32kts of true wind, but it dropped back to 22-26kts.  Nutmeg was fine.  It is hard though, as it is bouncy, and it’s not much fun below trying to move around.  I wedged myself on the saloon floor to sleep – fully clothed as it just takes to long to get kitted up.  I am using my harness in the cockpit when it’s at all rough, and always on deck.  Despite Nutmeg being what I’d call a comfortable boat, it’s still pretty brutal and basic when it’s like this.

Porridge for breakfast and it was a sunny day.  It was still pretty windy/wavy, but throughout the day it eased and we had a cracking reach/broad reach.  I don’t remember seeing Portland, but we were off Start Point by 1400.  For about three hours, we were joined bya  small pod of dolphins – quite timid and unadventurous, but lovely company and they enjoyed playing round the bow and diving under the boat.  They never fail to lift the spirit.  I then had a long conversation with myself – do I stay out for three full days, and head down to Alderney and back, or do I head back from here, for a 2-day sail.  Once I was back in 3G coverage I downloaded the latest weather and saw I was in for a beat whichever way I went, so I decided to carry on until the log said 100 NM (off Salcombe) and then head back.  Having turned round, I was beating straight into a choppy little sea, and not looking forward to 100 miles of it!  However the tide was pushing me East fast.

Sarah called, and with far more clarity of thought than I had, suggested that I sail the boat direct to Falmouth, and leave her there.  What a sensible idea – I was planning to sail her down there in a couple of weeks, but this would free up a weekend for family stuff.  I thought this was a fab idea, and after a swift calculation on distances, I turned around again, and headed West once more.  It was lovely to be heading downwind again, and a beautiful sunny late afternoon.  However it did take me about six hours to claw back to where I’d originally turned, punching tide past Start Point again.  About 60 miles to Falmouth, so I knew I’d get there about 0400-0500.  It was a lovely sail – didn’t have to tweak the sails hardly at all, and used a mix of Aries and autopilot; the Aries is pretty good once you’ve taken the time to get it all balanced, but we aren’t short of power and it’s just easier with the autopilot. 

Crossing from Bolt Head to Falmouth is pretty much the same disctance as crossing Lyme Bay, but because there are so many lights and ports, it doesn’t feel very remote or “offshore”.  My biggest problem was other boats; I was on a parallel course to “Mollymawk” for a long time, and this meant my AIS alarm was going off every few minutes – highly irritating and I need to work out a way of silencing for a specific boat, as it really screwed up trying to get a rest.  I felt more tired on this trip than I did on my recent sail with Emilia, and I was definitely reacting badly to issues and problems.  Sleep is going to be one of my biggest challenges on the race itself.  Three definite issues – getting grumpy when dealing with issues; feeling emotional about stuff, and struggling to decide on which action to take.  I need to think about these and give myself some coaching, as these will be magnified when I’m offshore.

We ghosted into Falmouth at dawn – I didn’t want to get in any earlier as I didn’t want to find somewhere to stop in the dark.  It was calm though, and I dropped sails and rigged all warps/fenders whilst still outside the harbour.  On heading in, I found a buoy to tie up to, and then spent 0600-0800 tidying, running through all the checklists and making an inventory of whats on board – given I am leaving the boat here until the race, this is the last opportunity to get everything sorted.  At 0800 the marina office opened and they opened the swing bridge to let me into the inner harbour where I’ve got a pontoon for the next month.  I hosed the salt off, packed up, and headed home.  Note to others – trains to/from Famouth literally take all day; I left at 0930 and got home at 1730…

So Nutmeg is at the race start location, she’s pretty-much ready to go, and theres just a few more things to sort.  Strangely, I feel more nervous about the race having done this last sail than I did before; I think it was because I was tired and therefore found it a bit more stressful than I have before.  I wasn’t anxious, but I did find it uncomfortable and I definitely need to sort out a better sleep routine, as that is going to make the difference between enjoyment and survival.