Ok, so I’ve given up trying to catch up on my blogging and will now concentrate on blogging our time on the Barbados 50 rally, trying to fill in the (large) gap I’ve left behind as I go.
The sail across from Agadir in Morocco was eventful to say the least. We started at 10am after checking out of Morocco, by motoring in thick fog, which gradually cleared as we got away from the Moroccan coast. The swell and the wind both gradually picked up and just as we were thinking about turning off our engine, we got a large chunk of rope caught up in it. We switched off the engine and folded up the prop and off it came only to drift back onto the fishing lure. Phil managed to pull it in but it was too heavy to lift to get the lure off. Atlantic Ocean 1 – Lure 0.
Then we were off sailing. We soon had 1 reef in and were being hit by a large side swell as we were on a 90 degree reach travelling 7-9 knots. This time we were just talking about putting in a second reef for the night when we got pooped by a rather large wave, which broke over our back deck. Time for a second reef. Then not 5 minutes later the autopilot disengaged and went on strike. Atlantic Ocean 2 – La Mischief 0! With Meagan not ever having hand steered we quickly decided on a roster of 3 with Meagan sleeping through the night and steering in the morning. It wasn’t too bad at first when the moon was up right in front of us, but when it disappeared at 1am, it was steering by compass and wind angle only.
Morning came and Meagan did a great job hand steering for the first time in her life. And then at 2pm, Eric the autopilot woke from his coma and magically started working again.
Finally we entered Lanzarote Marina in the capital of Arrecife at 6pm and found our berth. The marina is spacious and modern, so modern that most of the power points were for super yachts. We pulled in forwards between the long finger jetties and got out our power cord, which didn’t quite reach the only small power point in the vicinity. So we simply backed out of that slip and in backwards to the slip behind us. Perfect. And much closer to the bars, laundry and supermarket.
But we were on a mission to get to Vis then onto Italy so it was up anchor and onto Vis. We got to Vis around lunchtime and picked up a paid mooring in Komiza.
We spent a day and a half in Vis, waiting for the right weather to cross to Italy. We swam from the back of the boat and at the nice beach, and between the two. We walked through the nice town with its cutesy marina and nice waterfront promenades.
The weather was overcast with light winds. We got the genneker out and had some success using it with one motor running to give us some speed. Then the wind dropped and went on the nose so we furled in the genneker and motor sailed towards Brindisi.
We crossed the bridge and headed for the Santa Maria Gloriosa del Frari. As we got closer the rain started coming down in buckets and we retreated to a café for wine and cappuccino. Two drinks later, the rain abated and we made it to the church (on time). Its spectacular in its shear size and its marvellous paintings, sculptures and its pretty cool altarpiece by some dude called Titian. What caught our eye was a sculpture depicting black slaves, a quite haunting commentary on the wrongs of slavery. Good on the old Franciscan monks for taking a stand a long time ago because slavery was something the Venetians of old used to trade in.
Then it was off to Harry’s Bar. Unfortunately it had just ticked over 6pm so my shorts were a problem. So back to the boat for a shower and a change. Whilst on the Island of San Georgio we checked out the impressive yacht club we were staying at but unfortunately the season was a few weeks off and the weather was bad so the bar and restaurant was deserted.
We then had another crack at getting a temporary dingy license to cruise the canals. This time the Tourist Info Office directed us towards the City Hall and after being bounced around several offices and ending up at one that seemed to know what was going on, only to be told it was no longer a municipale responsibility but has now been transferred to the regional government, one hours bus ride away. Back at the boat, I read an email from Ellen who said a girl at another marina could organise it, but when I rang her she talked about organising it through the Tourist Information Office, but not before we were leaving. It was time to put up the white flag.
We hopped off at Salute and admired the wonderful church and then wandered the interesting streets that are found around the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. With the sun shining, it was too good a day to stay inside.
We got to Molat at 3pm and anchored in Luka Jazi. We’d picked out Molat because it looked off the tourist track and the bay on the chart looked inviting. It turned out to be a gem of a pick.
A Little Bit of Mischief 