An old story - What we did in Spain

This is now quite dated, but the story, for those who are interested, of what we did in Spain.

It is already well documented that we arrived at La Coruña with a broken engine, and limited idea of what the trouble could be. After a night at anchor in the bay with first light we sailed into marina Seca to search for mechanics – at that stage hoping for a quick fix – before we went again on our way.

Removing the old one was
dramatic!

Odds, ends and mementos on Auriga

Sorry, a slightly sentimental entry here, and nothing at all to do with adventures or recent progress. It is one I meant to write while we were doing maintenance and never got around too, so while I wait in Sal, preparing for the Atlantic crossing, I thought I would catch up.

Canaries to Cape Verde - or, what we do at sea

The passage from the Canaries – to be precise, an anchorage in North Fuertaventura – was, as well as the longest (991 miles), the easiest to date. Maybe this is the trade wind sailing people talk about? The spinnaker went up as soon as we turned South for the Cape Verde archepelago and stayed up for 8 days straight, until we reached the breakwater off marina Mindelo, on Ilha San Vicente. Regarding sailing, I'll just mention again the 156 miles covered in one 24 hour run. An average of 6.5 kts. How long till we beat this? Certainly it sets a precedent we will now be forever racing. If you ask Igor he'll give you a lesson in maximising vmg downwind.

When the wind wasn't as constant (and maybe also owing a little bordom?) Igor, in searching for an extra half a knot, set about hoisting everything he could find. In the end the number of halyards proved the limiting factor. Not sure how efficient this sail plan is, but the shade was nice...

5 sails flying on a 30 ft boat.
I would like to have heard the conversations
on board any other yachts passing us!