AFTERNOON SAIL AND MOB PRACTICE | PORTUGAL SAIL TRAINING

This morning we woke up on anchor just off the beach and cliffs in Sagres, usually the crew struggle to get a good night sleep the first night, new noises, a bit or nerves and new crew mates. Second night though, most crew sleep like a rock.

Yesterday was the first morning for the crew onboard. Bob has sailed with us earlier this year, and James have already signed up for a trans-Atlantic with us in 2024, but for the rest of the crew this is all new. After a long morning of safety briefs, we left the docks at Lagos Marina and went out on a day-sail to search for the wind. The forecast said no wind, but to our surprise, we had a great afternoon tacking our way over to Sagres. As soon as we got underway and realized we actually had the wind, we switched from our big Genoa to our smaller jib, even though it was calm and just a small swell, it still takes quite a bit of time and effort.

The aim was to have the anchor down before sunset at 5.30, but things always takes longer and anchor was down by seven. On our way in, I cooked dinner and as soon as the boat was put away, we had a nice taco dinner on anchor. Andy made the comment that when you arrive in the dark, it is fun to wake up the next morning and see where you are. Well, this morning we were swamped in a fog and could barely see the bow of the boat. Alex led the morning swim parade, he claimed 17-18 degrees, Knut thought it could not have been more than 13. We settled on a nice 16C water temperature, nice and refreshing.

MOB practice is something we do on every start of a passage, something you can not practice enough. Karina volunteered to be the rescue swimmer this morning, and Bob (our dummy, not crew member Bob), went over the side. We got the anchor up about an hour ago, but today there is truly a mirror on the water and not a breath of wind. Andy is giving a nav and weather chat, and when we get back to anchor again, we’ll look at the route for the rest of the week and where to go to find the wind. The plan is to lift anchor tomorrow mid-morning and head out for three days non-stop.

— Mia