Javascript staat uit. Voor een optimale werking moet Javascript worden ingeschakeld.

SailingPegasus.nl - Zeilen met de Pegasus - Blogdetails
Datum: 17-05-2016    Our Departure from Holland
 

Sunday 08-05-2016
Late yesterday evening we wrapped all the presents carefully and stowed them away. The cards, letters, poems and tickets I glued in the reception book for remembrance. Because it is Mother’s Day today, I can open the two envelopes my sons gave to me. I have to swallow my tears again and fortunately the box with tissues is within reach. In the envelopes are 4 beautiful pictures of my children. They will certainly get a special place on board. Fred goes, together with Ingrid, to their mother and they take a nice stroll. Luckily, mum doesn’t know nor understand that we are leaving the Netherlands. Today we do the last errands for fresh food. We buy enough rolls and meals we can prepare for on the way. This means I will be slaving over a hot stove all afternoon! I make my famous meatballs in soy sauce, peanut butter, ginger and pine nuts. That will keep me occupied for some time: rolling and baking 40 balls…. Then the other meals. It is a very hot day and I am inside, cooking!! But it is for a good cause. Fred downloads the weather forecast and it is looking good! Our first plan was to stop at Audierne in France, but now that the wind is favourable to cross the Bay of Biscay we decide to sail in one go through to Gijon, Spain. We expect this will take a week.

Fred climbs the mast to check if the top light is working; we had some doubts about this, but everything works just fine. At the rear of our boat, another boat has berthed, the Luna Verda, with Thijs and Wilma. They have been around the world already once and are taking a second turn in the near future. After a chat, we exchange cards so we can track what the other ones are up to, because we will certainly see more of each other in the months to come! We take the flag line down and stow it away for the time being. In the evening time I quickly put a sunscreen together for the roof window in the cockpit, something that will come in handy when it gets hot.
Tired of all the emotions we have an early rest in our beds.

Monday 09-05-2016
The day of our departure!
Ingrid and Freek declared that they would very much like to actually wave us goodbye on the day.
We rise early and make everything ready: tidying up the electric wires, fill the water tank, put all the lines in place, lay the journal in place and so on. When Ingrid and Freek arrive at the boat, they have a very special lunchbox for us: rolls with fried eggs on them. Sort of a tradition in their family when someone goes on holiday. We can only eat them when we arrive on the ‘highway’, Ingrid jokes. They disembark, after another last and hearty hug, another tear to be wiped away and then it is time. Anchors away and cast off! Quietly we sail out of the marina to give Ingrid and Freek enough time to bike to the mole.

In the inner basin, close to the mores, we hoist sail and we see Ingrid and Freek waving us goodbye from afar. We wave back at them until we can’t see them anymore. Then it is really really time….
We turn the boat south, our journey is about to begin. It feels strange but also so familiar and good to sail at sea! We let everything settle in our minds and just enjoy the wonderfully sunny weather.
The yummy rolls made by Ingrid don’t survive long in their bag, we can’t wait until the TSS (the sea highway). Nothing beats a roll with fried egg, thanks Ingrid and Freek!
We sail past Rotterdam and for the last time Fred reports to the traffic centre Maasmond and informs them that we are heading south for our trip around the world. They wish us good luck. Everything goes smoothly, nice traverse wind in the back. Things cannot be better and the forecasts are looking good. We feel confident with the outlook on favourable wind and sunny temperatures. En route we replace the line of the wind autopilot; the line was tattered in some parts. At 16:00 we get a text message from Freek: ”Quite the spurt! Domburg already!” Fred replies that we have east wind and a speed of 8 knots. And then….it turns a wrong way. The wind decreases, it is getting cloudy and it starts to drizzle. In the evening there is hardly any wind and it rains. We take turns in 4-hour-watches, the first one is for me: 18:00-22:00, then Fred 22:00-02:00. I get the so called ‘dog watch’, 02:00-06:00, which, normally, is no problem at all for me, but by now it rains and the temperature has gone really down. I’m cold, wet and tired and fed up that the weather has changed for the worse like this. Whose idea was it again to leave in May..? Whose idea was it to stow away the heater, because ”we won’t need that when we are going to the Sunny South?” Well, that dope was me!

Tuesday 10-05-2016
Little wind, current against us…we are getting nowhere. We really have to pay attention, because there are fisher’s beacons all over the place. The night turns even colder and on top of that fog is coming on. Fortunately, we don’t always have to navigate ourselves; the automatic pilot works well. The fog gets thicker and thicker and pretty soon the visibility is no more than a few metres. We navigate blindly on our instruments and are very glad to have AIS. With AIS we can see what ships are around us. Although some fishing boats sometimes suddenly switch it off…. The fog stays, all evening and all of the night. Where is the wonderful weather they predicted!!

Wednesday 11-05-2016
The current is with us for now, a little more wind and we’re going 4 knots. But still that fog!! It is a bleak, desolate day. This kind of sailing wears us out. We try as much as possible to run on sail, sometimes supported by the motor. But every now and then the wind drops and the current turns and then we don’t make any progress.

Thursday 12-05-2016
During my watch 18:00-22:00 I can see the sun go down, despite the fog, and that is hopeful. It seems a little less cold. The rest of the day the weather is foggy and there are a lot of fishing boats we have to be alert of. We run mostly on the automatic pilot and during my watches I try to do some exercises and keep moving as to keep my muscles warm.
Now and then watching out for the big tankers that go past us and if needed adjust the course.

Suddenly, a BANG!! Fred’s lifejacket that we put on the guest bunk blows itself up spontaneously. Learned something: never lay down a wet lifejacket, always hang it out to dry. Anyway, it worked well.

Friday 13-05-2016
By now we sail over Alderney and Guernsey. During my watch 02:00-06:00 it rains and it is so bitterly cold, that I, despite my thermos underwear, extra socks and shirts and exercises, don’t get warm anymore. My feet are so icy, that they turn numb and my whole body starts to ache. This was the reasons for us NOT to go north and not to Patagonia! Away, away to the sunny south. Yeah… Before Fred takes over my watch he makes me a hot water bottle. Luckily I bought one just before we left and it comes in very handy now! I roll myself into the duvet in the cockpit; that’s where we sleep during the watches. The water bottle under my feet to defrost them. The weather is not getting any better and Fred stays inside too. Every once in a while he goes out to adjust the automatic pilot and have a quick look around. W now sail in an area where there are practically no boats. It still rains and it is cold, but the visibility is getting better. Fred takes over my watch, ‘cause I’m still very cold. During the night there suddenly flies a bat around Fred’s head. Strange sensation, at sea….
In the daytime, we run out of our rolls (from Holland) and it is time to put our bread machine to good use, to knead and proof a new bread. The bake-off will be done in the oven, to save electricity. After a few hours we enjoy freshly baked bread with dairy butter and chocolate sprinkles! This is uplifting! The fog is on its way and there even is a hazy sun. Just before we go through the passage near Ile d’Quessant, we see a customs boat pass by. After some time it comes alongside. Mr. Custom’s man asks a few questions, wants to see papers, but does not come aboard. We wave a few papers before his nose and that is enough, apparently. Another few moments and we go through the “Canal the Hell”, the name says it all. A lot of rocks and shoals along the coast and when the visibility is bad, you really have to watch ‘your step’. We are lucky: a little wind, no fog and rain, even a bleak sun. After the “Canal” it gets even quieter with respect to boats. We replace the gas bottle, which is now really empty. Suddenly I see something in the water far away; dolphins? Birds? With the binocular I try to see what it is. They abruptly submerge and then come up to swim on. No, they don’t fly. They look like little penguins, but then they would be a little lost, I think. Fred has his doubts, but I am convinced they are really penguins. The sun sets and at last we can see a sundown again.

Saturday 14-05-2016
It is a bright night with a beautiful starry sky. I even see a falling star during my watch. Guess what I wished for! Fred spots the first dolphins. It looks like it’s getting better, the wind comes from behind and we put out the whisker pole at the jib. At the end of the afternoon we head too much west and we adjust course direction Gijon. This is relaxed sailing on the automaton! I bake another fresh bread.

It is actually sunny and we take time to enjoy this. Will everything be alright now? But alas, at the end of the day it gets cloudy and colder. Splendid sunset. Unfortunately, my watch is very cold again and I have to navigate by hand.

Sunday 15-05-2016
It is hard to keep course with changing winds and waves. In short, it is shitty weather and I’m turning grumpy. On top of that I can’t seem to wake Fred at the end of my watch, he keeps on sleeping. I’m envious at the way he can sleep anywhere, anytime. I, I always hear ‘things’.  Icy cold I roll into bed. Then suddenly there are a lot of dolphins around the boat. Fred sees them first. I’m still rolled-up in bed and try to spot them through the cockpit window. And I see one, he just jumps up! It’s special as always to see them dancing on the water. We have some (fresh) bread and I read myself in on Gijon. Another 170 mls. to go! All at once there is a worn-out little sparrow on board who hides away next to the dinghy.

Monday 16-05-2016
We go on engine, we want to get to Gijon as soon as possible, fed up with the weather, the current against us and the cold. Because it is about 4 km deep here, the sounding machine doesn’t give digits anymore. Suddenly the meter goes to 0,4 metres and that can only mean one thing: dolphins. They go under the boat and swim along with us. Hard to see in the dark of night, but still. In the night I see light on the waves, a special phenomenon caused by a congestion of micro-organisms that light up. It is called bioluminescence. When a moment later I flush the toilet (with seawater) I see that light up too. Very unusual! Because we navigated a lot on the automatic pilot and have had very little sun, the power supply diminishes drastically. We switch everything off that can be switched off. This is something we still have to work on. Around 12:00 we get some sun at last and Fred hoists the Spanish guest flag. The sun gets brighter, de skies bluer, are we going to experience what we came for? We relish the warmth and our temper gets better and better. I make grilled cheese sandwiches from the stale bread. Unfortunately the wind drops and we sail again on the engine. We are nearing Gijon! The entrance is reasonably well to navigate, but please follow the specified track because of the shoals. I do the first part and close to the harbour Fred takes over to berth, he is much better at that than I am. We are being awaited at the pier by the harbour master, who helps us berthing. Meanwhile it is about 18:45. The very friendly harbour master tells us that we can stay here tonight, but have to move over to the Visitor’s Pier tomorrow. Fred runs along with the harbour master to the harbour office to register. We pay -  for the time being -  for just one night, pending if the manager tomorrow might consider to negotiate a special price for a one-week-stay. We decide to freshen up ourselves and put some clean clothes on, which is no unnecessary luxury after one whole week on board….With wobbly legs (sea legs) we walk into Gijon looking for the restaurant the harbour master recommended us. We arrive at a rather luxurious restaurant “La Gabana”. This is a ‘sidreria’, a restaurant where they pour cider the traditional way.  They do this by holding the bottle as high as possible with a strechted-out arm and then pour (or try to) it into your glass. Extraordinary to see. We order a platter with different kinds of bread, olive oil and tapenade and enjoy this with a nice glass of wine. Our first acquaintance with the good Spanish kitchen! We also have the veal with vegetables and fries and a coffee for desert. So tired, but very pleased we walk, after dinner, back to the boat and into bed.


----------
 
 
22-05-2016, reactie van Jeroen & Rietje
Leuk om jullie reisverslag te lezen en zo een klein beetje "mee" te varen.
Veel plezier op jullie volgende trip. Hoop dat je de kruik niet meer nodig hebt.
Op naar zonniger oorden !!!
Liefs
 
23-05-2016, reactie van Paula Burger
Heb jullie verhaal door gelezen en zag er in het begin met het weer niet zo goed uit, maar uiteindelijk is het toch gelukt veilig in de spaanse wateren te komen en weer even te kunnen genieten van de zon en lekker ergens kunnen eten. Hoop dat jullie niet al te veel slecht weer krijgen want daar wordt je uiteraard niet blij van. Wens jullie dan ook veel succes en houd me op de hoogte.groetjes Paula.
 
23-05-2016, reactie van Erik en Jeanette
Hoi Lien en Fred, erg leuk om jullie reisverslag te lezen. Wij hopen dat jullie na mist, kou en regen nu wat beter weer hebben. Ik zie dat jullie Gijon inmiddels weer hebben verlaten. Hoe vond Kit de tocht?

Groetjes, Erik en Jeanette
 
23-05-2016, reactie van poeh hee!
Lieverds,

We zijn amper bekomen van jullie reisverslag (wat een uitputtingsslag) en nu zijn jullie alweer 'on the move'! Niet warm genoeg in N-Spanje? hihi.

Behouden vaart met het goede schip (zoals kapitein Walrus altijd zei) en ben benieuwd naar de eerstvolgende aanleghaven....

Liefs van Ludmilla & Ronald

 
24-05-2016, reactie van Ria & Carel
We hebben beiden jullie eerste lange "verhaal van onderweg" met veel genoegen gelezen. We moesten even terugdenken aan onze tijd van kamperen: weggaan met een leuke weersverwachting en dan kou lijden in een onverwarmde vouwwagen, Bbbrrrrrr!
Advies: duik het kacheltje toch maar weer op, je weet nooit wat je nog tegen gaat komen.
We kijken uit naar het vervolgverhaal.
Vaar wel!
 ----------
     << Terug >>