Coruna to Porto Santo - Break on Through

"Mañana" rarely means "tomorrow". The most accurate translation seems to be "not today". So in the second week of the engine installation, we gave up trying to predict our departure date, but agreed to be ready to leave as soon as the work was done.
And so it was that we slipped lines on Friday, the 3rd of October. Leaving the new engine turned off, we sailed out of the marina and continued in light winds past the waterfront we had had so much time to explore. A NWly flow promised headwinds from Coruna to Finisterre, but fast sailing South after rounding the north-western corner of Spain. By early Saturday, we headed a few miles offshore, found the sudden right wind shift where the flow diverges around the mountainous mainland, tacked South, and by evening we were reaching along the rhumb line at 6-7 knots with a building breeze behind us.

Weather forecasts offshore

Aurigas SSB receiver - with space
 for a smartphone on top

Our recent passage from La Coruna to Porto Santo took just over a week. Even the best pre-departure weather forecasts can hardly be relied upon over this time period. Receiving weather information at sea allows us to re-evaluate our route planning, ensuring a fast and safe passage.
But what are the options? Mobile networks only help within a few miles from civilization. The forecasts received using our VHF radio can only be heard up to 40 nautical miles from the shore. After that, additional, and, typically, expensive equipment is needed: either a satellite phone (or modem), or a long-wave radio receiver. The choice is bewildering. Moreover, one has to consider whether one is content with text-only forecasts (like the shipping forecast), or looking for more detailed wind weather maps (like the Metoffice pressure charts or Passageweather wind maps).

For Auriga, we where looking (as usual) for a reliable, redundant, power-efficient and affordable system.

The long drift

Engine failures on sailing yachts account for a majority of the RNLI call-outs, I keep telling students on the RYA Diesel Engine courses. Engines provide a back-up in an emergency (or if you are becalmed and have to be back to work in Monday), they charge batteries, and yet over the years they have been more of a nuisance to my sailing than any other system on a boat.

So it is no wonder that when our 40-year-old Volvo went through its final stroke off Ushant, I couldn´t help feeling, among other emotions, relief.

Auriga departing England for Madeira!

We had a refreshing and productive stay on the South Coast. Using the experience gained during the "shake-down", we have made many small improvements that will make life at sea safer and more comfortable: we have sealed a small but annoying leak, added extra bolts to secure the forehatch, repaired the small #3 jib, replaced leaking faucets, and generally improved the ergonomics both on deck and down-below.

Further, the weather seems to have improved, too, and the long-range forecasts look promising.

Next stop - Madeira!

Ipswich to Portsmouth - the shakedown cruise

We left Fox’s early on Monday morning (waving to our shore party, who dutifully reported how fast and beautiful Auriga looks under sail). The Thames Estuary is familiar to Igor and me, but, following an inshore route to avoid the worst of the winds, it was the first time either of us took the opportunity to sail through an offshore wind farm, and we got the opportunity to introduce Auriga’s wind generator to her bigger sibling.

With everything going as planned, and luck seemingly in our favour we were hit by a squall off Ramsgate and tore the small number 3 jib. It is not clear if this sail is past its sell-by date, or it was a small pre-existing tear that spread. Either way, we have had the sail repaired this weekend. With the broken sail, and worsening conditions we decided to stop for the night, where we met one of the early retirees from the Round Britain and Ireland race, who, with their much more expensive racing yacht, prove we are not the only sailors to have given up that night.

Pushing the 50m exclusion zone a little
to get this photo...

Update from Auriga – Day 1 and 2

Day 1 – Monday 11^th August

Departure day has finally arrived! Alarms set at the sunrise, we get the boat ready in the first lights of a beautiful sunny morning. The forecast still predicts SW 6-8 but up the Orwell it’s not too windy. Igor and Matt slip the mooring lines at 7 am, and Elaine, Rob and I wave goodbye from the pontoon. We then run to the spit to see Auriga disappear down the Orwell, picking up speed quickly with the sails up. 

Ready to go!

Filling the fuel tank... magics of the jiggle pipe!

The last stages of preparation

After months of maintenance and a last few days of hectic provisioning and packing, Auriga finally left her berth at Fox's marina on Monday! More details on the first leg to follow very shortly in a dedicated post.

But let's go back of a couple of day, and let's see what we've been up to in the last few days before the big departure.

What shall we take with us?