Sunday 18th June 2005 - Cascais to Sines

Posted at 9:53 AM, Sunday, June 19, 2005

Swagman Log – Wednesday 18^th June 2005

Rally Portugal Leg 5 – Cascais to Sines

We all had a late one as it was Gerry and Saras last one with us.  Getting up to see them off was a struggle – and getting Sara up and moving even more so.

They had booked a 0730 taxi direct from Cascais to Lisbon airport and by 1030 when we were checking out – they were boarding and on their way home to Scotland.  Really nice couple of people and we’ll miss them on board.

As we departed the marina the sun was trying hard to break through some pretty dense sea mist.  Visibility was down to 100 yards as we motored past reception towards the start area in Cascais harbour and circled around pre-start.  With a light F1 / F2 from the WSW there was no spinnakers possible as we crossed the line at 1100 on our almost direct line SSW course to Sines.

XII Bar Blues soon overtook us with their bigger No1 headsail but it was the two of us who led the fleet south.  We hardened up and edged west towards the forecasted W’ly winds, and inside and hour had found the winds, and adjusted our course so we could fly a shy spinnaker.

With only 3 on board we took it easy and did it all step by step to ensure we had no problems.  I must have been kidding myself.

Once hoisted in its snuffer, I nodded and the girls wound back the brace and sheet whilst I heaved to pull up the snuffer – and up it started to go.  But when it was about half way up its 23 metre length, I suddenly found myself pulling out heaps of snuffer line.  Before I had a chance to question where it was all coming from – the turning block which is normally fixed at the top of the snuffer appeared on the line in my hand.  It had obviously come away from its fitting – leaving the snuffer half way up in when were now building breezes!

The normal solution of winding back both brace and sheet simply did not work as we began to rocket south with half a spinnaker up.  Right – lets drop it I hollered, and down it came in a tangle on the foredeck.  Of course – you can only image me under this huge sail trying hard to haul it all in - and stop it going over the side in winds which were now 12 + knots.

So…… I physically pulled the snuffer up so the whole sail was exposed, and we hoisted it quickly in the shadow of the main.  It went up fine and I was about to say ‘well done’ when I saw our snuffer – which normally refuses to come down despite major tugging – slowly sliding back down the sail!

So down it all came again – and we removed the snuffer completely and threw it below. 

One last launch in the conventional way and we were off it hot pursuit of XII Bar Blues – who by now had done a horizon job on us.

The wind built over the next hour and by 1300 when Sue went below to cook our hotdogs for lunch – our rocking and bouncing at 10 knots hull speed led to a few barbed comments.  When the expresso pot was flipped from the stove a most unladylike request was heard to ‘get that f*****g thing down NOW’.

We did not loose too much speed as the breeze was now 23 – 26 knots from the NW – so we were still trucking and picked up surfs of 12 knots. 

By mid afternoon the breeze was going soft so we fixed the snuffer (hot job) and re-hoisted the spinnaker for the last 10 miles.  As we closed the cape off the harbour we were passing some of the fleet who had chosen to leave early or motor for the first few hours – but we had not seen XII Bar Blues at all.  

It appears our route further west was the right one – for we crossed the line of Sines harbour at 1837 – apparently the first ‘all-sailing’ boat in.

Later that evening the mayor of Sines gave the fleet a reception in his chambers – lovely guy and Sines is a really nice place to visit again one day.

A couple of cold beers in a beach bar on the way back - and we retired to bed around 0100 in the morning. 

A good sailing day.

And I may burn that sodding snuffer.