SOUTHAMPTON TO PLYMOUTH - 20/09/2005
Well here is my first skippers report from Gipsy Moth IV. The crew arrived early this morning as keen as mustard and after a good clean up of the boat and a few last minute photos & interviews we were ready for the off. After a very intense summer commissioning GMIV doing sea trials and ironing out all the large creases I can't believe the day that we leave to start the round the world voyage has finally come. For me it has been such a roller coaster ride being involved with such a historic vessel.
So we cast off from The Southampton International Boat Show to a rousing applause and due to a lack of wind we motor sailed west down the Solent to the Needles. Thankfully the wind filled in 10kns from the south east so after a short briefing our ever willing crew hoisted the sails and Gipsy Moth IV responded by delivering 5Kns in only 10Kns of wind – a real delight for the crew.
With the sun shining we settled down for some lunch – at this point I was still finding hard to believe that this is the start of a 22 month adventure. The crew quickly took charge of the on-board camcorder and did some excellent interviews of each other (you should check them out on the web site!).
After a lovely sail it was soon time for dinner – a traditional Spag Bol was soon on the go by me, and was even sooner devoured by the crew. As dusk fell we settled into a 4 on 4 off watch accompanied by loud snoring from several bunks!!
As the night slipped by a glorious full moon rose in the east as we steadily made our way through towards Plymouth. All been well we should be in Plymouth by early morning – looking forward to some more celebrations before I start the next leg to Gibraltar. If you can make it down to Queen Anne’s Battery in Plymouth we would all love to see you, plus this is the last chance to see Gipsy Moth IV in the UK until she returns in 2007.
All the best
Richard Baggett
ARRIVAL IN PLYMOUTH - 23/09/2005
Today I awoke at 0600 to 20 kts of wind on a nice reach doing 5-6 kts just rounding start point with a nice cup of tea when in good old British fashion it pored down, so we bore off & headed for Plymouth.
We arrived at QAB marina at 0846 where we went straight to the fuel berth to top up for the leg down to Gib. I was taken to see our berth by the marina guys which was a little tight & will be fun trying to get the boat out on Sunday as we will have to turn the boat around in a really small space, Gipsy Moth has the handling characteristics of a super tanker due to an interesting rudder/prop configuration and a folding prop. The berthing went fine with no incident, then we all went up to the local café for a well-deserved breakfast.
After cleaning the boat & stowing all the sails we then had BBC SouthWest onboard for a live interview going out on the lunchtime spotlight. The rest off the day was spent doing maintenance tasks, one of which was repairing the primus stove, which is now back to full health.
This evening we have all been kindly invited to a fish supper at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club that should be a welcome rest.
We are now looking forward to welcoming the public onto the boat tomorrow, as well as the inevitable last minute preparations.
The photo is of me writing this report at the Gipsy Moth IV Comms Station - just so you don’t all think that someone else is creating this.
All the best
Richard Baggett
FINAL PREPARATIONS - 24/09/2005
Here’s my skippers report for the day, & what a day. After an excellelent meal at the Royal Plymouth Corinthian yacht club where we where made to feel truly honoured guests. The day started early with a team briefing in preparation for receiving the public onboard Gipsy Moth.
We have been doing the final preparation of the yacht for the trip down to Gibraltar. Despite my many years working in the yachting industry in a wide range of roles it never ceases to amaze me how many small little jobs there are to do before a long trip & you still never seem to get everything done. A few of the main jobs have been: fitting the automatic transmitting unit for the HF set (a very difficult job as it is located in the stern of the boat, Putting up the original Royal Yacht Squadron pennant that Chichester cathedral have kindly framed & presented to me at Greenwich. Filling all the tanks checking & updating inventory.
The crew has arrived today but have hardly had a chance to stow away because of the volume off people onboard. It has been so good to see so many people coming down to visit the boat & I must apologise to the people that didn’t get to see as much as they would have liked. We had so many people onboard that we where just not getting things done. The crew have been kept busy having photos & have had some camera training from Conrad Humphies the wining skipper on the last Challenge Race & have been shown how to operate the oceanographic equiptment followed by a visit to Plymouth Gin Distillery.
We have just finished (20:45) stowing all the food for the trip which when you look at the amount, it is a surprise how it has all been swallowed up inside this small yacht (See pictures). I have got to thank:- Simon for all his help with the media equipment onboard & Andy, Ray & Matt for all there help with the preparations today although there where some sore heads from the night before.
Tomorrow promises to be a fantastic & memorable occasion. We are hoping to see a large fleet of vessels out in the sound & a significant turn out from the public to once again see Gipsy Moth IV depart on another circumnavigation. Let’s hope that this voyage will do justice to the legacy of one of Britain greatest maritime heroes, Sir Francis Chichester.
DEPARTING PLYMOUTH - 25/09/2005
The crew:
Elaine Cladwell (Columba 1400)
Peter Heggie (Stoke Dameral, Plymouth)
Matthew Pakes (Isle of Wight Schools)
Richard Baggett, Skipper
Dewi Thomas, Mate
Paul Gelder, Yachting Monthly
A beautiful morning, clear skies, a fair westerly wind, the day where Gipsy Moth would sail around the world, again. The departure reception was held at 1100 in the Royal Western Yacht Club, with rousing speeches, including Elaine who shared her thoughts that Gipsy Moth IV was a seed, growing out into a tree with her branches reaching out to everyone; this even brought a lump to the throat of our salty sea dog skipper. A few personal farewells later and Gipsy Moth IV slipped Queen Anne’s Battery, Plymouth, at 1430 on Sunday 25th September 2005.
Gipsy Moth IV was escorted through Plymouth Sound by over 100 vessels, many packed with supporters and well wishers, some of which had witnessed Sir Francis Chichester’s historic return following his solo circumnavigation on 28th May 1967. It was a proud and moving experience for all onboard, and a dream come true for Paul Gelder, founder of the Gipsy Moth IV vision.
Among the crew there was excitement tempered with apprehension about the uncertainties that lay ahead. The weather looks ominous, with some strong winds and heavy seas approaching the Western Channel and the Bay of Biscay. With a westerly breeze, the chosen destination was Brest, a short passage to allow the crew to find their sea legs, although a night passage straight across the Channel in force 5/6 winds does not appeal to everyone!
And so to normality, a cup of tea (no Gin and Tonic at sunset, honest) cleaning the yacht, getting the sextant out, taking the oceanographic data, capturing the moments on video and stills, and, time for dinner……. Beef stew, thanks to Emma Baggett for getting the provisions. Stewing stake, spuds, onions, leak, carrot and a clove of garlic, flavoured with a dash of Heinz’s magic ketchup, mmmmm. Most managed to eat it all, but a few local fish did also have a little treat.
The magic of seeing GMIV spreading her wings under a half moon and the stars and heading across the dark waters of the Channel for the first time since Sir Francis sailed home for Plymouth was certainly a defining moment in this project. At 0300 the wind had dropped to not much more than 7 or 8 knots and it was time start the engine. Dewi and Paul took the midnight to 0400 watch while Matt recovered from a bout of seasickness in his bunk. Now it’s the turn of Elaine and Peter with skipper Richard. You will find out how they got on tomorrow.
Life is great.
CROSSING THE ENGLISH CHANNEL - 26/09/2005
Skipper’s Log GMIV Monday 26 September, Brest, France
After an exhilarating night passage across the Channel, leaving Eddystone Lighthouse to starboard, the crew settled into night watches with Elaine and Peter on the skipper’s watch and Mathew with Dewi and Paul.
We sailed right through the first night, until around 0300,when the wind dropped from gusting Force 7 to less than 7 knots, and the iron horse (engine) came into play.
There was quite a big swell running.
On Monday morning we were due to rendezvous with an RAF Nimrod aeroplane on a search training mission. But by they time they called us up on the VHF radio we were already in French territorial waters, just inside the 12-mile limit, and the French authorities declined to give permission for the Nimrod to fly over us in French airspace. We’d offered to sail back up our track, but the plan now is to set-up a rendezvous for later.
At noon Gipsy Moth IV was hove to so Elaine and Peter could use the oceangraphic environmental testing equipment to take water samples at sea. Later, underway, Richard and Dewi showed the young crew how to take a noon sight – or merdian passage – using the Freiberger sextant, donated by the Maritime Trust, and the Corum time piece, a prized item on the skipper’s wrist. Bling comes to sea!
Then it was time for the skipper to fire up an essential piece of kit on the boat – the Seafresh watermaker, which is cunningly hidden away behind an inspection hatch in the portside of the cockpit. With a crew of six, supplies of fresh water for drinking etc are in demand. Chichester had to rely on catching rainwater running off his mailsail to top up his water tanks.
Gipsy Moth also sports another luxury item Sir Francis never had – a sprayhood to shelter the helsman from wind and spray, though it did not stop a freak wave slapping the side of the boat and dumping itself on Pete during the night while he helmed!
By mid afternoon Gipsy Moth was heading down the Rade de Brest throught the famous Chanel du Four… and later, with a sunset astern, we ran with the wind on the quarter down to a marina in Brest for the night, notching up our best speed yet – 9 knots surfing down a wave.
With every mile that passes Gipsy Moth’s keel, her new young crew are gaining in confidence and finding their sea legs. Teamwork, as we berthed in Brest marina in strong winds, demonstrated, literally, how fast they are learning the ropes! Elaine and Peter then demonstrated their newly acquird culinary kills, dishing up a tasty supper of sweet and sour chicken, followed by skipper’s treat of steamed pudding (treacle and chocolate) led to an early night for the exhausted crew.
Next stop… somewhere in Spain?
LEAVING BREST FOR BISCAY- 27/09/2005
Day 3
After an overnight pit stop in Brest and a day spent familiarising our new young crew with the shipboard routines, deckwork, galley duties etc, it was time to top up the water and fuel tanks and cast off across the Bay of Biscay for north-west Spain. Already in her first foreign port of call since, we imagine, Sydney, Australia, 38 years ago, GMIV was attracting attention in Brest among British yachtsmen on the visitor’s pontoons. The skipper of a Nicholson 35 who took our lines when we arrived was later given a tour of GMIV. Other Brit skippers came by to admire the restored ketch.
It was less a case of Biscay Force 5 and, almost, a case of Biscay Take 10 as Richard, the skipper, patiently rehearsed and performed six film ‘takes’ for the video camera under the eagle eye of budding Hollywood film director Dewi Thomas. First the remote microphone wasn’t transmitting, and then we tried switching from the hand-held camera to the ‘webcams’ fixed on Gipsy Moth’s main mast, under the spreaders, and the mizzen.
During the day’s layover in Brest, Elaine and Peter had been hoisted up the masts to clean salt off the camera lenses from the Channel crossing. Patiently, Richard ran through his on deck impromptu ‘script’ with his crew briefing prior to departure from Brest. Explaining to Matt, Peter and Elaine that we had a forecast of NW winds varying from Force 3 to Force 5 and it was desirable to get across the Continental Shelf into deep water and so avoid the often turbulent waters where depths rapidly shelve from thousands of metres to mere hundreds.
‘I don’t think I could ever make a career in the film business!’ reflected Richard on the sixth ‘take’. With the film ‘in the can’ it was, as they say in Hollywood ‘a wrap!’ and Gipsy Moth finally slipped her lines and 1755 local time (an hour ahead of BST) and headed out of the Rade de Brest for The Big Adventure.
There was a certain amount of trepidation among the young crewmembers, for whom the idea of three, four or even five days and nights at sea was an unknown challenge.
Dinner was tinned chicken curry with rice. At 2100 the main and mizzen were hoisted and we motor sailed out of the Rade, altering course at 2230 to pass Chausee de Sein westerly Cardinal buoy finding a free wind and switching the engine off.
At midnight the watch changed for the next four hours from Dewi, Paul and Elaine to Richard, Peter and Matt, and Matt took the helm. During the night the true wind speed went from13 knots to 16 with boat speed from 3 to 7 knots.
Dewi spent part of his watch editing the film shot in Brest. GMIV has a sophisticated state-of-the-art video computer-editing suite. Hopefully, you’ll be watching that footage today.
Just as we sign of with this letter, Elaine has seen her first dolphins… a pod of 10 swimming alongside Gipsy Moth IV, epitomising our freedom.
IN THE TEETH OF BISCAY - 28/09/2005
Captain’s log Stardate
Elaine took the helm and like all of us aboard marvelled at how Chichester managed to sail Gipsy Moth single-handed. With the backdrop of a wild and windy night, a steady Force 5 gusting 6, and a dramatic whitecaps breaking up the black seascape, she admitted it was ‘daunting’ to helm the 53ft ketch across the notorious Bay of Biscay. Matt has been battling tiredness and seasickness and bravely continued to stand his watch last night.
Early this morning Peter sighted dolphins, Paul saw a shooting star and in the afternoon there was a rainbow. Miles from civilisation, nature takes on a special significance for the crew on GMIV as we battle with the elements. We were facing another head wind, now locally known as a ‘Baggett’, a phenomena to which our hardy skipper was becoming accustomed. This would frustrate our progress to make Cabo Finisterre, the western-most point of Europe -- translated as the Cape at Land’s End.
The only other signs of life out here today were a couple of long line fishing boats and, curiously, a Lear executive jet, identified by our RAF man, Dewi. For a split second we thought DG had chartered one to keep tabs on his ‘baby’.
All day long today we’ve been racing across the bay – at the time of writing we are now one-third of the way there, heading towards a midway point on the chart called ‘Biscay Abyssal Plain’… Sometimes, especially at night, hurtling along into the blackness, it feels like the edge of an abyss. Imagine driving your car, without headlights, of course, over a badly ploughed field, with no seatbelt, no shock absorbers, no brakes, no windscreen wipers, and -- it’s a convertible and it’s raining salt water!
We’ve all got well and truly dowsed by the odd rogue wave striking the side of the boat and dumping several bucketloads on us! One of us is down to his last dry set of thermals! Moral: don’t go on deck without oilies. Trying to live at the angle of heel that Gipsy Moth seems to enjoy – 25-30 degrees, with occasional violent swings to 40 in gusts and waves, is like a permanent aerobics class. Think of the savings in gym fees! Elaine says one of the great surprises has been simply ‘trying to stay steady on my feet. This morning I was starting to loose patience’.
Getting dressed to go on watch in boots, oilskins, lifejacket and harness is an ordeal. Going to the loo is like trying to stay in the saddle at Beechers Brook in the Grand National, with your trousers round your ankles! Terra Firma beckons!
STARRY, STARRY NIGHT… TAKING THE ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH - 29/09/2005
Twilight Approaching
We’ve had the rough on this Biscay crossing, but in the last 24-hours we’ve been enjoying the relatively smooth. As I write, at 0430 BST, we are motor-sailing along at seven knots under a starlit sky on a silken sea ruffled only by the ocean swell. Astern, off our port quarter, a sliver of moon is rising on the horizon. On our port side lies Orion’s Belt, with The Plough constellation of stars astern and the pink glow of Mars above. The same reassuring bodies that Sir Francis would have sighted whilst navigating his voyage around the world. Off the port bow is the glow of lights from NW Spain’s city of La Coruna. If we’re lucky, we’ll see the loom of a lighthouse beam sweeping the night sky before our watch ends at dawn. It could be Cape Prior or, perhaps, the Torre de Hercules, the world’s oldest lighthouse, originally built by the Romans to mark the natural harbour of La Coruna.
Land Ho! … well, almost.
There’s a magic about night sailing that’s as exhilarating as it’s enchanting. Seeing the stars shining brightly in a studded dome of never-ending velvet blackness is a sailors’ privilege. None of the big city light pollution to blur or dim our spectacular private Star Show. The only other man-made lights around tonight are Gipsy Moth’s navigation and steaming lights! ‘Night’s like this make the rough bits we’ve gone through, worth the suffering,’ says Elaine.
Dewi has got the sextant out of its box and is wearing the Corum time piece so he can do some star sights… just as Chichester would have done on such a night – before the advent of satellite navigation, as he, too, headed south from Plymouth 39 years ago this month.
There’s another light show going on out here in the Bay of Biscay tonight… on the ocean around us. We are still, just, ‘off soundings’ (in deep water) over the Continental Shelf and as Gipsy Moth’s long-keeled hull cleaves through the water she leaves a trail of ‘sparks’ astern and in the wash to port and starboard… these bright glowing lights, known as ‘bio-luminescence’, come from plankton in the water. There’s a whole other world beneath our keel. Elaine has grown fascinated by the phenomenon and wants to catch one and take it home!
By day, the ocean in these parts is more than two miles deep and a beautiful dark shade of cobalt blue that you won’t find in UK home waters. In the last three days we’ve seen Biscay in all her moods… except really angry! Today she’s been relatively tranquil and when we hove-to at noon to do our MetOcean environmental sampling we had to let out 20 metres of line before the white disc disappeared from sight in the depths of the Big Blue. It’s used to measure the clarity of the water. The more plankton in the water, the shorter the distance the disc will be seen. The tests, for the University of Plymouth, are undertaken three times a day: at 0600, noon and 1800 to provide ‘a window’ on the marine environment through which Gipsy Moth is sailing. The data recorded – including water samples showing turbidity and chlorophyll content and photos of the sea surface - is sent back with the latitude and longitude.
This morning we spoke to a passing cargo ship by VHF radio… It turned out to be a Belgian-owned cargo ship with a Russian skipper taking quartz rocks to Norway! We only asked!
Matt, Peter and Elaine also had some lessons in light airs sailing – flying the cruising chute. Alas, there was no one else around to see the sponsor’s corporate logos, but it was great fun. The sun was out and it was time to peel off the oilies and put on the shorts and T-shirts. ‘Can we go swimming out here?’ asked Matt.
On the menu today was corned beef salad for lunch, with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and pepper and with beef and dumplings for supper.
Time to ‘sign off’ now and get a grip on the tiller, again - all this typing is too much like working in an office! I wonder what Sir Francis would have made of all these emails, video streaming, webcams, ocean sampling etc. I rather think he had more than enough to do as a solo sailor in charge of handling Gipsy Moth IV!
Fair winds to all of you ‘Out There’ sharing this voyage with us.
THE SCENT OF LAND AND A SUNRISE LANDFALL ON BAYONA - 30/09/06
Last night we could smell the sweet scent of land carried by the wind 30 miles out to sea from the north-west coast of Spain. Or was it, some of the crew wondered, the smell of the skipper’s deck shoes, banished to the lazarette (the furthest aft locker) two days out of Brest?
Dewi spent much of the 0400-0800 Friday watch working out the position of the stars for a pre-dawn star sight, or editing video in Gipsy Moth’s film ‘studio’, next to the galley, where Sir Francis had his gimballed chair and beer tap. ‘Bring back the beer tap!’ say some. With GMIV’s tendency to try and throw her ‘riders’ out of the saddle, or hurl them across the saloon as she heels and rolls, there are a trio of ‘bum straps’ for crew working at the chart table, the galley cooker, or the ‘video editing sat-com suite’. We need a fourth for the sink and washing up! A ‘bum strap’, for those who don’t know, is a padded sling that goes round your rear and hooks onto the table, or cooker, so you can lean back and brace yourself against the forces of gravity.
Friday brought more blue skies and sunshine so that even the off-watch crew (Dewi, Paul and Elaine) forsook their bunks after a four hour night watch to return on deck in shorts and T-shirts, joining Pete, Matt and Richard. With light winds, Richard poled out the jib and flew the working headsail (our biggest, apart from the cruising chute) plus the light airs staysail which sets between the mainmast and mizzen. With practically every stitch of canvas flying, not to mention some crew laundry drying out, and a snakepit of ropes in the cockpit, there came a cry of ‘Dolphins!’
A pod of 30 or 40 brown bottle nose dolphins streaked up both sides of GMIV and soon we had our own Dolphin Display team escorting us into Spanish waters as a smudge of land – the mountains of Galicia and Cape Finisterre - hove into view. Our new-found aquabatics team performed barrel-rolls, sychronised swimming and played in the bow wave. Matt, who was asleep below, came through the forehatch like a Polaris missile, clutching the camera he’d worked overtime to buy as a waiter in his local Isle of Wight pub.
Today, after much sail setting and ‘pole dancing’ we have all marvelled at how 65 year old Sir Francis coped with sailing this demanding, sometimes wilful, ketch. Even skipper Richard, found poling out the headsail ‘a bit of a work up!’
Later in the afternoon, the crew relaxed as we rolled downwind in blue skies with land ahead – one crew in the bow listening to iPod music, Richard amidships on the sat-phone to the UKSA, and Elaine Matt, Pete in the cockpit practising sun sights on the sextant with Dewi.
Sitting in the cockpit tonight after a supper of corned beef hash, you could hardly see where the navy blue dodgers ended and the velvet night sky began. A necklace of twinkling lights were strung out along the Spanish coast on our port side as we sailed south to Bayona. With no detailed charts for our landfall, we slowed the boat down for a dawn arrival… dropping the mizzen and foresails and reefing the main.
For a fourth time this trip, we had the privilege of being joined by a dolphin escort. From midnight until dawn they were our ‘outriders’, streaking like glowing torpedoes through the phosphorescent waters, diving under our keel and criss-crossing our bow wave. For Elaine, who spotted them, and all of us it was sheer enchantment. The last one left at 8.20am local time. GMIV’s own luminous wake scattered a trillion sparkling diamonds, created by her long keel.
Free at last from her 38-year prison sentence, chained in a concrete London dry dock, it’s as if the dolphins are welcoming Gipsy Moth IV home to their water world - a magical, poignant sight to behold.
As the sun rose over the rugged mountains of Spain, bathing them in an ethereal orange light, we turned Gipsy Moth IV towards the coast and the silhouette of Bayona. When you ‘go foreign’ by sailboat, there’s nothing to beat a dawn landfall – and this was a spectacular one. In five days at sea the yacht has sailed from 50 degrees to 42 degrees North, but the young crew have covered a distance that cannot be measured in mere miles. Comfort zones have been extended and minds expanded. Lunch and, no doubt, a celebration glass of wine is on the cards – and it’s on Yachting Monthly!
* * *
Paul Gelder writes: On her maiden voyage and 500-mile ‘shakedown cruise, Gipsy Moth IV has come through with flying colours. Since her launch, on 20th June, she had just 884-miles under her keel before departing Plymouth six days ago. Yes, she has her vices – you could also call it a shake, rattle and roll cruise, since the Moth loves to roll downwind and sail on her ear upwind. But the fact that she has performed all that we asked of her is a testament to the thorough refit and the forethought that the UKSA team have put into her: that’s John Walsh, Richard Baggett, the skipper, and Ray Nicholson, among others.
Richard is a consummate, instinctive seafarer who was probably born at an angle of 45 degrees – ideal for skippering GMIV. He can sail by the worn seat of his patched pants and sticks to the decks like a magnet, defying gravity. What Richard doesn’t know about sailing you could write on the sharp end of a marlin spike. Always watching out for the yacht and her safety, he inspires confidence in her young crew. More than skipper, he is cook, navigator, engineer, plumber, electrician, and, now, film camerman/ editor, GMIV tour guide and still a genial host!
His reward, is to see the transformation of his young crew, casting aside their early uncertainties and fears of the unknown with the new-found confidence and enthusiasm of completing a 510-mile passage four days and five nights out from Plymouth to Bayonna, Spain. Next stop, Gibraltar!
ends
LEAVING BAYONA - 02/10/2005
The crew & the skipper’s feet now smell a whole lot better for a good shower in the excellent facilities of the yacht club. After a glorious lunch of paella, crème caramel, a bottle of rosado & some wonderful stories form Paul in one of Bayona’s many seafood restaurants, we made our way back to Gipsy moth. She is moored bow to (must be a first) in the Monte Real Club de Yates, with the picturesque small fishing town that remains unspoiled from commercial pressures & the typically Spanish castle of Monte real in the back ground.
Paul unfortunately had to leave us to get back to family issues & will be sorely missed. He has been a great crewmember who has quietly & I suspect sometimes tactfully gone about his daily duties on the vessel whilst lightening my spirits & being very patient with the younger members of the crew. I would like to thank him for not only for being a welcome crewmember, the founder of this project but also for the amount of help, support & hard work he has put into this project. I am so pleased that he came on this leg & got to sail on the vessel that inspired him to become what he has become today, a well-respected & successful editor of the Yachting monthly magazine. Thanks Paul, I look forward to sailing with you to Sydney next year, o and thanks again for lunch.
Following an less than average pizza for dinner & a very welcome 11 hour sleep we woke to a very breezy morning & a slow start, but there was lots to do. We topped up are tanks, checked out the rigs, carried out some minor repairs, routine checks, a quick lunch of tinned hotdogs & spaghetti & we where ready for the off. Destination Largos on the south cost of Portugal, about 20 miles to the east of Cape St Vincent.
We left the mooring without incident, hoisted the main, mizzen & staysail on our way out of the harbour & made are way out to sea past the crashing wave on the menacing reefs that inhabit the entrance to Bayona. The previous day the wind had been blowing hard from the north, 30 knots in the comfort of the harbour, & had created a breath taking five metre swell. We later herd that the UKSA Challenge 67 which is operating in the area training ocean graduates the fine art of celestial navigation had experienced force 9’s 100 mile off shore and was headed south for Lisbon.
As Gipsy moth rose to this mighty swell of the Atlantic Ocean we boar off, setting a running sail the largest in our inventory off which we have two. We poled this out with one of the alarmingly thin & long poles. These as well as the masts & spars have been revived to shining silver by Jacob part of the maintenance team at the UKSA. These where the very same poles that sir Francis Chichester complained about because of the many lines that are where involved in setting & adjusting. With a course dead down wind we where headed south towards Cabo da Roca the peninsula off Lisbon.
Gipsy moth responded well to this sail plan & we found we where shooting off at 6-7 knots in 10 knots of wind whilst being very stable as the poled out headsail against the main & mizzen seamed to balance her very well & made her light on the helm. At this point we decided to try out the Blondie Haslar selfsteering gear which had been restored by Patrick Maurd. It was a huge success & has lightened the load on us all. Being a man down & not having to steer is always a welcome treat.
The steering system works through a wind vane which is set to the desired wind angle, & links into a drop down rudder mounted on the stern. The rudder is then connected to a quadrant on top of the rudderstock by means of two lines running foreword through blocks. The wind vane will always stay at the same angle to the wind so as the boat try’s to veer from its course the aft rudder & main rudder are forced to bring her back on course. Sir Francis also complained about this a great deal as he had great difficulty in keeping Gipsy moth on course mainly due to the size of the rudder & the forces involved through the control lines, thought to be some four tons at times. But it didn’t last long for us either. With a wind shift bring the breeze to the beam I tried for an hour to get her to steer & eventually through me hands in the air with a cry of “ what are crew for any way? STEERING “ and went to bed.
Matt who has been suffering from sea sickness has been feeling fine so far which I am very happy about Elain & Peter are shaping up in to handy crew. All sails where set today by these three which was a pleasure to see. I feel we are over the worst & we can really start to enjoy the sailing ahead of us.
O & hello mum glad your watching
In Magellan’s Waters - 03/10/2005
As we pass south of the Rio Mino (river Mino) into Portuguese waters it was time to replace our red and yellow Spanish courtesy flag with the red and green of Portugal. The Portuguese national flag dates from the 11th century and in the centre is a coat of arms consisting of an armillary sphere, an astronomical and navigational instrument that can be used to determine one’s position on the earth’s surface. Quite fitting as we continue to plot our voyage by the sun, planets and stars, with Peter, Elaine and Matt all now able to use a sextant accurately.
Yet another beautiful dawn breaks with clear blue skies returning an aqua reflection from the eastern Atlantic waters on which we sail. The Portuguese Trade winds (Nortada) blow a Northerly force 4 as predicted and the southerly current accelerates our progress down the Portuguese coast. Even the waves have become our allies, lifting us gently from astern and surfing us favourably along our desired course. Our friendly dolphins keep a watchful eye, checking that we are still ok and chirping away merrily as they dart across our bow. And we haven’t even had breakfast yet!
We have carried the same sails as yesterday, full mainsail, mizzen and running headsail poled out on the starboard side. As Elaine pondered how Sir Francis managed this all by himself, a rebellious wave and Nortada gust ambushed the yacht, skewing her rapidly to starboard. The self-steering mechanism’s valiant effort was to no avail and the resulting forces overwhelmed the original starboard running pole, which buckled under the pressure and folded in half. It was a distraught moment as we realised that we had broken a piece of our national treasure, taking only a little comfort from the knowledge that Sir Francis had also broken a running pole, although not quite so early on in his voyage. Losing the pole cost us about a knot of boat speed as we decided to protect our remaining port pole from any possible damage.
The crew have found their routines now and are managing to fulfil the many demands on their time, from cleaning the yacht to recording their emotions and thoughts to share with you, our audience. They are also becoming a whiz in the galley, with Matt and Elaine turning out a fine and healthy Pesto Pasta evening meal, washed down with a bowl of chocolate sponge cake and custard. A cup of tea sealed the evening perfectly, job done.
We sat acknowledging our good fortune at having the opportunity to sail onboard this inspirational yacht and watched the sun descend beneath the horizon, lighting the sky in a vivid crimson. Venus appeared in the Southwest a good half-hour before the stars had found their torches. Having shown them the way, she too disappeared below the horizon, hiding from Mars which appeared majestically from the north east, a fiery red and orange, and certainly the dominant feature in tonight’s sky. I wonder how the world would be today had the heavenly bodies not been there to guide our great explorers along their way.
AROUND CAPE ST VINCENT AND ALONG THE ALGARVE - 04/10/2005
My day began at 0400 being woken with a cup off tea and a gentle nudge from Peter, time for watch Rich. We past Cabo Espichel, the final headland at the south of the Lisbon peninsular were motoring along with five knots of wind on the quarter. The northerly trades had gone round to the Northeast & faded during the night. On with the life jacket and up on deck, roll on breakfast was in the forefront off my mind, so we broke out the bread making kit & Elaine volunteered to set to breakfast preparations. Around 0600 the gentle breeze rose to a steady fifteen knots just aft the beam that allowed us to break out the cruising chute. Gipsy Moth gently healed & shot off at six knots. Soon after the mizzen staysail was hoisted and with an offshore wind, a flat sea, the smell off freshly made bread coming from the galley, I had one of the best sails I have had in a very long time. I am constantly amazed at how well balanced she is, a little tender maybe but she was in her element averaging seven knots. So it was with a grin from ear to ear that we woke the off watch, Dewi & Peter to join us for a hearty breakfast of scramble eggs, freshly baked bread & jam, fresh coffee & a beautiful sunrise to start the day on a real high. For me to have had a morning so good in it’s self has made the whole project worthwhile.
As the sun began to rise & the twilight began to fade Dewi took a star sight to fix our position. We are now all familiar with the location of the main stars and planets with Regulus, Sirius and Mars presenting a good 3-point celestial fix.
During the day it was Peter’s turn to try his hand at ‘shooting the sun’ and he recorded accurate sights that placed us within 4 miles of our assumed position; good going by anyone’s standards and a nice birthday present for his mum (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS HEGGIE). To end his watch, Peter completed a running fix on Cape St Vincent, a clip of which can be found on the web site (birthday bonus for mum!).
As the morning progressed we passed several ships, one being a Portuguese naval vessel. They where very suspicious when we called them up on the VHF asking if we could ask some questions and declined to partake in a VHF interview! The breeze died off through the day and we found ourselves motoring along for the rest of the passage.
The rest of the day was spent recording & carrying out some of the extensive list off jobs to do on the boat that always inevitably get dropped in order to leave on time. The crew where set to whipping ends of lines, cleaning, and capturing video diaries to beam back to the web site via our fleet 55 satellite dome & computer system, kindly supplied & set up by BT, Nera & Charles & Offshore Challenges.
We rounded cap St Vincent around 1920 and turned on to an easterly course leaving another beautiful sunset behind us in the West as a Portuguese fishing boat tended to her lobster pots. There is an air of tranquillity and contentment; justice for the challenges we had already overcome. Next stop Vilamoura, a change from our original destination, as it would be more accessible for our replacement crewmember Tom Buggie. Dinner was a huge success; Jacket potatoes cooked in the original oven that Sir Francis Chichester used to make his daily bread. These where accompanied by peppers, beans, tuna & cheese, all cooked to perfection.
As we approached the harbour entrance to Vilamoura the sound on loud music & cheering filled the air and I longed to be back at sea, but a welcome sleep was on the cards so we tied up on the waiting berth & settled in for the night. Peace.
ON OUR WAY TO CADIZ - 05/10/2005
Name those Fish
It was 3 in the morning when we finally tied up on the waiting pontoon just inside Vilamoura marina. Richard managed to persuade the marina ‘capitania’ that it was not a good idea for us to manoeuvre Gipsy Moth around his expensive motor yachts at this late hour, particularly after our 350 mile sail from Bayona. ‘The Algarve’ don’t you know. It was alive, thumping music from a karaoke bar somewhere in the concrete village with good ol brits blasting out their rendition of Amarillo and Elaine trying desperately hard not to sing along with them.
On the other side of the harbour we could see local anglers leaping across the rocks sporting long roach poles on which they hoped to catch the morning’s breakfast. They appeared confident and we wondered what type of fish they would catch; Matt and Peter agreed that they were probably after mullet.
Wednesday started slowly with a mid morning visit to the marina office in search of the showers. A fluent conversation ensued, sadly in different languages, with ‘hello’ being the only common word. After numerous grunts, sighs and tuts we were handed a plastic card and ushered out through a grid iron gate towards a brick building behind the boat yard. We felt like Mr Ben on a great adventure.
We returned to the yacht refreshed and ready for the passage to Cadiz. Tom was frying some eggs while Richard was checking out our electrics. There is always so much to be done to keep this beautiful yacht in pristine condition. It was just as well that we had as a crowd of admirers gathered on the pontoon, some proudly stating that they had seen Gipsy Moth at the Southampton boat show. Their friends had not and were ecstatic when we offered to show them around. More people came, all congratulating us for getting her back on the water. It was humbling and reminded us how privileged we were to be part of this amazing voyage, and this is only the beginning.
Elaine, Peter and Matt took a stroll into the village whilst Richard, Tom and I finished off some maintenance tasks. Matt returned with his replenished stock of Coke and Elaine had brought us all a chilled can of tropical fruit juice. Perfect as the temperature was approaching some 28 degrees with little shade. Gazing into the waters below we could see the fish that the locals had been trying to lure last night. Too pretty to be mullet and probably from a higher gene pool. The larger fish were similar to whiting but sleeker and slightly greyer. The tropical looking fish were silver with black stripes, making Elaine chuckle as she recalled Marlin from Finding Nemo, the blue one that behaved like a mullet. If you know what they are please drop us a line via the Gipsy Moth IV forum, there are more pictures on the web.
We slipped Vilamoura at 4 pm, looking forward to Cadiz. We were soon out of sight of land and continued with our celestial navigation whilst Peter rustled up a tasty chicken in sauce on a bed of pasta. Tonight’s stars were Enif, Rasalhague and Kochab, with Venus included for good measure. As I write, it is 1.30 in the morning and we will be in Cadiz by dawn. It is strange how time is becoming irrelevant and I noticed today that nobody is wearing a watch. We are no longer governed by time, but somehow its master, bringing out the Corum timepiece only when we need an accurate clock for finding our longitude. Spanish time? Portuguese time? Greenwich Mean Time? No, we’ll get there at dawn!
TIME FOR A SIESTA - 06/10/2005
The province of Cadiz lies in the Andalucia region of southern Spain, some 100 miles East of Vilamoura. The Bay of Cadiz extends over 2 miles in diameter with numerous marinas dotted about the coast line. We headed for Puerto Americans in the heart of the city and right in the centre of the busy commercial shipping port itself. The port of Cadiz is not an attractive place and the acrid smell of diesel and polluted water was unwelcoming. Richard performed the fastest U-turn I have seen Gipsy Moth accomplish and we headed back across the Bay to Puerto Sherry at the western tip of the Bay.
Peter rustled up scrambled egg and beans on toast for breakfast. Cooking for 6 people with only 2 burner rings requires careful planning. Toast requires the use of an interesting contraption comprising a flat metal disk to distribute the heat, and 4 wire racks against which the bread is leant. It is also an excellent testing tool for the yacht’s smoke detectors.
It was time to relax, not an easy thing to do after the exhilaration of the last 10 days. The heat was intense, reaching the late 20s again, perhaps even touching 30 degrees. Matt and Peter dug out the fishing box and set about trying to entice the most docile fish we have seen so far! Elaine teased the boys and was confident their efforts would be in vain. Four hours later, Peter was rewarded with a small whiting, filmed by Matt for you to see on today’s Gipsy Moth TV. Lucky for the fish Peter did not know what to do with it and released it back into the marina before we could get the filleting knife from the galley. Probably just as well when considering what the fish eat!
Time to explore. We came across a tropical café bar overlooking the sandy beaches and befriended some British folk who have been coming to Puerto Sherry for 20 years. Jim and Graham are both retired and were in Plymouth when Sir Francis returned from his circumnavigation. They kindly drove us around the nearby historic town of Puerto de Santa Maria named after one of Christopher Columbus’s ships. More on Santa Maria tomorrow, but for now, when in Spain, do as the Spanish do. Time for a siesta, what a great idea, one we really should import back to Britain!
PUERTO DE SANTA MARIA - 07/10/2005
Plaza de Toros
The day began slowly at around 1100 after a well earned lie in, today was to be our official day off. After a good breakfast we slipped our lines and headed for Puerto Santa Maria about 15 minutes motor up the Rio Guadalete. This typically Spanish town is famous for it’s maritime history, one Christopher Columbus Caravels was named after it & on exploring the narrow streets it is soon obvious that it’s roots run deep.
Before we where able to begin our explorations we had one more duty to perform. Arrangements had been made with Medina High School on the Isle of Wight, Matt’s school & also my old school, to do a conference call with the pupils. After a great deal of frantic dialling, donning of mike’s & setting up of cameras, the link was make via who knows how many satellites to the school. We were on. Matt confidently answered the many testing questions with a finger in one ear whilst we all sat in silence listening in. We later found out that this went out on TV in the evening.
We set off in to town after lunch, wandering through the narrow streets in amazement at the beauty of the place. At the end of every street there is an ancient building drawing us towards it. We came across a bull ring, apparently the oldest in Spain & went inside where the atmosphere was breathtaking. We sat on the stone seating which surrounded the circular sand covered stage & imagined what it would be like 250 years ago when the Plaza da Toro was in its infancy. A capacity crowd watching one brave Matador torment & slaughter a raging bull to the cheers of the crowd & talked about the morality of it.
All the walking had wet our appetites & we found a tapas bar by the river side where we had a delicious meal of squid, spats, prawns, fish to name a few. Then wandered back to the boat to prepare her for our final part of this leg.
We cast the lines off around 2200, put two reefs in the main & set out in to the bay of Cadiz. The forecast for the next 38 hours was south east to east seven, not really the ideal forecast but manageable. This was going to be the first real trial for Gipsy moth a I am very confident that she could get us through unscathed. We rounded Castello de San Sebastian on to a South easterly course out in to the night.
SAFE IN GIBRALTAR - 09/10/2005
The final voyage of the first leg of Gipsy moth’s circumnavigation was to be a hard slog & would test the boat & its crew in many ways. As we rounded Castello de San Sebastian a stiff force 5 was blowing from the south east, naturally from the direction we where headed. The swell was relatively short compared to the large Atlantic swell we had experienced a few day’s ago. I had decided to try & make this trip as short & painless as possible, so called on the services of the Yanmar 4JH engine generously donated by Barrus, which push Gipsy along at 5 knots. As we rounded cap Roche the wind increased to 26 knots & the waves built, slowing us to 4 knots.
This trend continued as we past Trafalgar, the headland in the forefront of my memories of this year following the spectacular celebrations in the Solent, & that wonderful firework display at Portsmouth harbour entrance. Having been brought up on the Solent I can’t remember ever seeing so many vessels on the water as there was that day.
I woke the off watch at 0500 as the wind increased to 35 gusting 40 knots feeling very wet & tired after our day in Puerto de Santa Maria. I turned in expecting to spend the next 4 hours being thrown around my bunk & being called on to watch only a few miles down the coast. Much to my surprise not only did I sleep like a log (the aft bunk is just aft of the middle of the boat & there for doesn’t move around as much as say the berths at the front, which incidentally are bunk Matt & Peters bunks) But on coming on deck I found that we where just passing Terifa, the start of the Gibraltar straits with a steady 3 knots of tide in our favour. I expected some current in our favour but not as much as this.
Gipsy Moth was taking the barrage of waves very well in this now full gale of 40 gusting 45 knots of wind, although just before I came on deck a big roller broke on to the foredeck swamping the boat & stopping her dead in her tracks. We continued on through the straits for another 2 hours with some concern, but Gipsy ploughed on through & as we turned in to the bay of Gib the wind dropped off to a welcome 18 knots & we headed for the security of he harbour.
On arrival at the customs office I handed the officer the registration document. On reading the name of the vessel he leapt to his feet in a flash & darted outside to get a closer look. He couldn’t believe that Gipsy Moth had been restored & was tied up on his pontoon. It must have been the easiest clearance of customs I have ever done. With promises of a full tour we left for the fuel berth & on to Marina Bay where we tied up & headed off to the nearest café for a full English leaving a crowd of people admiring Gipsy Moth looking elegant dressed over all.
On return 2 hours later & with very full bellies we stowed cleaned up & I went through the boat looking for leaks & found quite a few. The fore hatch had leaked along with the two skylights above the saloon & all of the chain plates. I guess some of the features are still the same, who says she’s not original.
CLEAN UP DAY - 10/10/2005
Today was to a day where we repay Gipsy Moth for her sterling work in getting us here safely in one piece. We woke early & began the long list of jobs that need to be done, cleaning, polishing, restowing & repairing. Matt, Peter & my self cleaned the inside of the boat from top to bottom, while Tom & Elaine started on the deck. Repairing the mainsail, which had a few small chafe patches, was the first of their tasks, moving on to cleaning & polishing.
Dewi was given the job of organising the miles of video footage we have taken during the trip & sending it back to the UK. On arrival we had looked into using the marinas wireless Internet connection to do this as it would be far cheaper than using our satellite system. We approached Yacht Connect, who where only to pleased to help, giving us one weeks free connection. Yacht connect are a relatively new company who’s aim is to provide this service across the Mediterranean by the end of 2005. The service allows you to log on to the internet from you boat with out using any wires so can be used while at anchor as well as in the marina.
After we had scrubbed Gipsy Moth to with in an inch of her life we set off in to town to investigate.
As we wondered through the streets past the endless duty free shops we got a real mixed feeling about the place. Gibraltar has a population of 30’000 representing diverse ethnic, racial & religious groups. These originate from many countries such as Spain, Portugal, Malta, Ireland, England & India. Although this strategic peninsular at the mouth of the Mediterranean has been under British rule since 1704, when Admiral Rooke captured it from Spain, it holds a very international atmosphere.
The history here is long. In 712 the Moorish landed here with an army of 12’000 men & constructed a strong castle, which can still be seen today. This Moorish presence turned Gibraltar in to an important port for trade imports from Africa & carried on under this rule for 748 years. Over the next 1000 years Gibraltar changed hands many times between King Ferdinand of Castile, the Moors & the Spanish eventually being occupied by the English in the 1700.
The most famous Symbol of Gibraltar must be its Barbary Apes that run wild on the hill. Aledgedly
If these apes whereever to leave the rock then the British would inevitably fall. So much so that Sir Winston Churchill ordered the protection of the apes during to war to prevent the invasion of the Germans
The evening was spent eating a succulent steak in the local restaurant accompanied by a nice bottle of red watching the highlights of the England match. Then early to bed in anticipation of the crews departure. The guys have been such fun & have adapted to life onboard. It has been a pleasure sailing with them. & I wish them the best of luck in the future.
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