Log Entry No 1 - 31st Aug - 9 Sept 07
“Wind speeds increased and with 50 knots of wind across the deck the crew were facing a force 9 gale with high seas . . . . . I couldn't believe it, the waves were breaking over the boat - we got drenched! This was crazy, the waves were massive, definitely as big as my house (and that’s not a bungalow!). This carried on all night long, it was a rough ride but there's no stopping the Barmy Army Crew, we battled through it as we always do and came out better.”
Discoverer leaves on route to Canaries
FROM THE CAPTAINS CABIN
Following initial sail training and safety procedure training in the Eastern Solent a 27 hour passage to Plymouth proved to be a testing time for many crew members as they battled to overcome sea sickness. A pleasant (for some) day sail through Lyme Bay in 12 - 15 knots of breeze made for near perfect conditions for an introduction to seamanship and for our novice crew to practice helming (steering the boat) and tacking (making progress into the wind by a series of zig zags) in favourable conditions.
On Sun 2 Sept Discoverer departed Plymouth en route to The Canaries with a plan to stop at Porto Santo, part of the Madeira Archipelago. She stormed across the English Channel thanks to a Force 5 Westerly - the crew already overcoming the initial seasickness. After rounding Ushant during the early hours of the morning she passed into the Bay of Biscay into very light breeze. As she crossed the Continental Shelf into deeper waters the swell increased and as we sailed through Mon and early Tues the breeze gradually increased.
Whale in the Bay of Biscay
From about 1400hrs UTC on Tues 4 Sept the wind started to build along with the sea state as we approached Cape Finisterre. As Discoverer closed the Headland, wind speeds increased and with 50 knots of wind across the deck the crew were facing a force 9 gale with high seas. Discoverer was making 14 knots ( a knot is a nautical mile per hour) downwind with 3 reefs in the mainsail. (reefing is a way of reducing the sail area as wind strengths increase.) Once around Cape Finisterre the wind eased and returned to a respectable Force 4. As soon as she was round the Cape the wind eased and returned to a Force 3 - 5. It had been an exciting time, but is precisely this sort of testing condition that makes the experience and is the raison d’etre
As she headed further SW from the Cape the wind was ever decreasing, it was a chance to really enjoy the scenery of the NW Spanish and Portuguese coast. After seeing many dolphins in the Bay of Biscay it was a treat to see a couple of Fin Whales at 42N 009W. They stayed with Discoverer for a good 20 mins and were only feet from port midships at times as they came to the surface for air and attention. The largest appeared to be about 45-50 foot long. A good days sailing with crew members getting used to keeping the asymmetric spinnaker flying.
Thurs 6 Sept saw some good sailing in the morning and early afternoon with hourly runs of around 10NM, then as dusk approached the breeze died down to less than 5 knots. By Fri morning the breeze had not picked up and it was definitely shorts and t-shirt weather now as we progressed ever further South. By lunch everyone was feeling the heat so a call of "Hands to Bathe" was heard, most crew members enjoyed the 23C water temps of the Atlantic Ocean - trying to forget that it was over 4000m to the sea floor.
Chance for a dip, ocean bottom 4000m down
A similar day of light airs and high temperature was had on Sat 8 Sept - the crew finding time to learn how to strip and maintain a winch, climb the mast to fix navigation lights and even cook an outstanding 3 course meal (thanks to Westy and Tomo).
Discoverer and her crew have covered a total of about 1300NM so far since leaving Gosport 10 days ago with winds of up to a Force 9 and swell up to about 30 foot. She arrived in Porto Santo at breakfast time on Sun 9 Sept, a 24 hour stop off to allow the crew to stretch their legs and see what is claimed to be the best beach in the Eastern Atlantic. After stocking up on fresh produce it will be the final passage to The Canaries and some island-hopping day-sails to look forward to."
Rob Fell
2nd Mate
FROM THE CREWS’ BERTHS
Sea swell up to 30 feet
Gunner Martin "Bones" Reed-Darby wrote at 02 1700 Z Sept 07 -
"On the 31st Aug we started our expedition leaving Portsmouth for Plymouth. The stop in Plymouth was so we could get our final supplies for the expedition. It took us around 24 hours to reach Plymouth in which we worked in 2 watches: Blue and Red. Some of both watches came down with sea sickness but we all kept going and worked through it. Early evening on the 1st we arrived in Plymouth and moored in the harbour. We put the sails away then all went for showers before we took a trip to town for some fish 'n' chips and a beer or coke! In the morning of the 2nd after a good nights sleep we went to the local cafe for a full English and a few cups of tea. We went back to the boat to get her ready to set sail. We left Plymouth for sunnier shores."
ATpr Kris Hardy wrote at 02 1745 Z Sept 07 -
"On the 3rd September we finally reached the nerve racking Bay of Biscay, after hearing so many stories of how rough it could be we sailed through it and nothing was a problem! We had a number of pods of dolphins swimming with the boat, everything was fine, all we needed was a bit of sun! Come the next day, 4th September, as we were near Cape Finisterre in the southern Bay of Biscay at approx 1500hrs the wind picked up and the waves became bigger. My watch came on at 1800rs and I couldn't believe it, the waves were breaking over the boat - we got drenched! This was crazy, the waves were massive, definitely as big as my house (and that’s not a bungalow!). This carried on all night long, it was a rough ride but there's no stopping the Barmy Army Crew, we battled through it as we always do and came out better. What an experience, I'd definitely do that again."
Fus Kris "Les" Dawson wrote at 05 1615 Z Sept 07 -
"On the 31st Aug me and the courageous crew of the Discoverer, captained by Andy, set sail from Portsmouth to Plymouth, the journey took us just over 24 hours. During the journey we working in 3 watches; Red Watch, Blue Watch and Mother Watch. Whilst one watch worked the other watch rested and mother watch cooked and cleaned and made brews. When we got to Plymouth we pulled the sails down and switched to engine power. Taking the sails down on the move was hard graft but the mighty crew of the Discoverer did it with relative ease. Once in harbour we moored up and put the sails away and plugged up the boat to the harbours power. In the morning we were back in routine and the watches got back to work, we scrubbed the decks down and put the sails back on and filled the water tanks. We left Plymouth and crossed the Channel very quickly before getting down into the Bay of Biscay where we are now."
Gnr Andy "Angel" Needham wrote at 05 1830 Z Sept 07 -
"On the 5th September we were all relaxing after dinner talking about the stormy weather the night before and how we thought the Bay of Biscay was horrible when we saw a cloud of water shoot up about 300m away. We all shot up on deck and it was 2 whales. As we were sailing along these whales were getting closer and closer up to the point where they were about 5-10 meters away.
We couldn't believe our luck, we had seen them before but not this close. Andy the Skipper was even amazed how close they were - he had seen them close but not this close before.
So far we have had about 20 dolphins swimming next to us as well as the whales and we have only just got into Portugese waters, we will see much more as we sail south."
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