Grown Ups Gap Year
Now the girls have finished University it is our turn for a gap year! #grownupsgapyear
| Vessel Name: | Mirage |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Moody 38CC - 1993 |
| Hailing Port: | Poole, Dorset, UK |
| Crew: | Sally and Paul |
| Extra: | After the girls had finished university we decided it is our turn for a gap year. |
04 August 2020
Falmouth to Studland
We spent two nights on a mooring buoy in Falmouth but wished we could have stayed longer and had a slow passage home to Poole. However we are getting Mirage lifted out of the water as soon as practicable and we do this near to where we live. To get to the boat yard we have to go up the local river that [...]
02 August 2020
Azores to Falmouth - the arrival
With the final 400 NM we were typically doing 140 NM a day or better until the last night on the way to Lizard Point and the entry to Falmouth. The wind was around 20 knots for most of the time but the wave grew bigger during the first 200NM and became steeper once we had crossed the continental shelf. These [...]
29 July 2020 | Atlantic Ocean
Azores to Falmouth Update 2
Day 4 brought the strong winds we had been expecting but we had kept ourselves further south than the shortest route to help keep out the strongest. The day was a mix of drizzle and sunshine but still warm enough to keep the shorts on & we carried on sailing at a good pace crossing the 800NM to go [...]
25 July 2020 | Atlantic Ocean
Azores to Falmouth Update
We left just after 10am on Wed 23rd to sail the 1156NM to Falmouth. The weather did its best to give us a good send off but the wind was missing! We were waved goodbye by the boats from Praia do Vitoria and help with our lines by some friends we had met there. With the lack of wind we needed to motor [...]
22 July 2020
Terceira
We did an overnight sail to Terceira Island (Ilha Terceira) from Sao Jorge to ensure we arrived in the daylight. Our destination was the marina at Praia da Vitória. This is known to be the cheapest in the Azores but is also a good departure place from the Azores to the UK. The sail took us initially [...]
15 July 2020
São Jorge
We left Horta for São Jorge at 08:30 to sail the 22NM. We knew it was going to be a slow sail as the wind was light and we also only had the genoa which when on its own isn't the ideal sail for an upwind sail. With her clean bottom however Mirage didn't disgrace herself and we managed the sail in just [...]
Horta - Take 2
The sail is not repairable and we much needed support from a great friend, we had a sail loft in Wareham (Kemps Sails my preferred local sail maker) prepared to make a sail at short notice and ship it out to us.
After we had anchored Sally went to bed and I stayed awake to ensure the anchor had set properly and used the time to organise the manufacture of the sail after agreeing the final specification with Rob, the owner of Kemps Sails. This was wonderful support from a local Dorset company and this will be our second sail from them.
The sail back was uneventful but did take us into the strong winds we had been sailing north to avoid. It was a downwind sail and we only needed to use of Genoa reefed to get us back. The 303NM only took us just over 2 1/2 days even when reefed so heavily. The winds never went above 28 knots so easily coped with. Heidi, our wind steering system, was amazing and performed magnificently not only during this return trip but through the whole trip.
We were welcomed back to the anchorage with messages from our friends as well as the amazing guys from Peters Sport Cafe and the the maritime police.
We have returned to normal sleeping patterns after the watch keeping of the sail and shall now wait for the delivery of the new sail.
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Journey to Cabo Finisterre and the visit
11 Photos
Created 9 September 2019
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The final loading and setting up for the start of the true Adventure
2 Photos
Created 10 August 2019
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