The First Leg…Cowes to Madeira Via Bayona and Porto Santo 21/9/08 to 9/10/08

After nearly 3 months of hectic preparation, repairs and installations we finally left Cowes on the last of the cool North Easterlies headed for Bayona and warmer waters. I was slightly worried that we wouldn't complete the passage before the weather turned, but arriving off Cape Finesterre with 40 kts from the NE, we had made it through the Biscay unscathed and hopefully warmer, fairer weather lies ahead.

We left on 21 September after a real "fast finish" and although we planned to leave at 3 am we decided to get some sleep, as we weren't finished in the house until 2.30am. Consequently we were all tired as when we eventually left at 8 am. We had a guest on board for the first leg…a camera man who was filming for a documentary to be shown sometime in the future. Biscay was just fine and we saw some typical Atlantic weather with winds in the 25-30kt range and some large seas on the port quarter. Finesterre caused us a little worry with high winds and some really steep seas on the beam, but we were through that by 11am and finally motored in with clear skies and a light warm breeze.

We had daily runs of 159, 181, 180, and 179 miles and dropped anchor on the 25th at about 8pm off Pria De Rodas on Islas Cies some 3 miles NE of Bayona, After a great beach day, which was enjoyed by all, and a meal ashore we left the following day and berthed in the Marina in Bayona. The cameraman left after a few days and we headed up to Porto Novo a few miles up the coast for a little family time and a bit of beach before our trip to Madeira.

The Weather was not looking good in the medium term so we shelved plans to meet up with friends further north, and upped sticks and headed for Madeira on the 2/10 with a following wind. Feeling refreshed after a few days alone.

Again with the NE Trades we made good speed making 210, 155,153 and 136 miles, arriving on the island of Porto Santo at 4.30 pm on 6/10.

Porto Santo was great with a really large beach and beach bar / restaurant where we could see Pegasus and the boys could play on the beach as we ordered food and relaxed. Although the beach is quite exposed from the south and east, it provided good shelter while we were there and the holding was good.

With a freshening wind from the NW we set off for Madeira after breakfast on 9/10. We had all sorts of weather, full sail, to 3 reefs in, making 16kts at one point to ghosting along at 9 kts in 7 kts of breeze…really quite a challenging day. Pegasus was really responsive as I had scrubbed the bottom when in Porto Santo taking all the summer weed off, and much of the antifouling, so she now has great pick up.

We all really noticed a difference coming down to the Madeira group. The water temperature is 10 degrees warmer than N Spain so at 72 deg is quite swimable…(my cut off is 70 although the boys will swim in 60 deg F!!!) It was almost as we passed the straights of Gibraltar that the weather changed and the wind was really quite warm and pleasant We all felt that we had finally got into the cruising grounds we had left 4 months ago when we departed the Azores for the UK in June.

The last 1400m miles has been quite a test after 3 months ashore. We have changed so many things on board that each new system has had to be checked, and the propensity for massive problems has always been there, but luckily the modification that have been made have held up and at last the rig is working well and using the rotating mast has really increased our speed and windward performance.

The Atlantic has played with us and been forgiving…we really could have had a few problems in Biscay had the gusts been at the wrong times of that wave been a few meters closer when exposed reefing etc. The Reefing procedure is now much more polished…I had forgotten the finer details of the procedures whilst getting fat ashore…and yes, 3 months ashore and the muscles you need to perform the deck tasks quickly and smoothly have just gone soft and I've
been out of breath and not really fit enough. All that has now changed and the strength is returning and sailing the boat is getting easier and less scary.

Life aboard is finding its rhythm again. The boys and Amanda are happy and family life is moving on….Amanda's making soup and trying to get JJ to lay the table, and I'm on the computer…..no good got to go!!!

The Soup was delicious sort of tomato and garlic sausage. Were here in Madeira in Porto Da Calheta, (Funchal marina is full and all the boats are being evicted Next Friday as the On Deck Farr 65's come in on their race…rather boring especially as this was organised by someone we know in Cowes our home port!!!) We plan to stay here for a week or so to sort a few issues and take a look around, then head off to the Canaries after our new guest arrives…Grand Mere.

The Trial run...USA, Bahamas, Azores, UK

In Brief…We had a great time in the states. I picked Pegasus up from John Lombardi's yard in late February and with Whig Neil and Neil Edwards set off down the intacoastal waterway headed for Charleston. I've got to say it was pretty cold, with ice on the inside of the cabin, but after 2 weeks the weather was warmer and we arrived in Charleston in early May ready for the
arrival of Amanda, Jean-Jaques and Louis. The lads left and Amanda and the boys arrived and we spent a pleasant week with my Cousin Emily and family enjoying Charleston. Sadly Amanda had a spot of food poisoning so didn't really see much of what is a beautiful city. We headed south and made our way to West Palm in Florida, ready to cross to the Bahamas. We had an early weather window and made our way to the Abacos, where my brother Edwin joined us for a week. Ed Left from Nassau and we headed south through the Exhuma chain enjoying island hoping and ended up in Georgetown. After a week on the beach it was time to go. Amanda had decided that she was ready and that she and the boys would do the crossing with me on Pegasus. I was delighted, as if all went well then we had a sustainable system and the rest of the world was only a sail away.

21 Days later we arrived in Sao Miguel in the Azores. Al was well. We had done our longest trip and everyone had enjoyed it. A week later and we were off again headed for the UK and home waters. 9 days later we came up the channel in force8 conditions headed for Christchurch where Amanda's parents had organised for us to go alongside the yacht club. We had a great reception and Pegasus looked really quite large up the river…we only just got in as there isn't much water there. We spent a long weekend there and then headed for Cowes our homeport. I had a jobs list as long as your arm and so set about a mini refit, repairing some planking which had cracked on
our transatlantic, installing a new wind generator, sail repair, rig tuning, changing the running rigging, new sail bags, and numerous other details to make the forthcoming trip easier. The summer proved wet and windy and the weather delayed repairs so that we didn't get as much done as we wanted.

However we had set a date and as the weather turned in our favour we were under the countdown. A last minute deal with a production company saw a cameraman and some production staff around the boat before we departed and we spent our last few days along side in Shepard's Wharf in Cowes where all at the harbour commission were extremely helpful and really made our stay as easy as possible for us…we are very thankful.

Breakout from the Yard...A Brief History

PEGASUS

“Things never seem to be simple and straight forward when it comes to boats and this one will probably not disappoint in that regard”…such were the opening words in the eagerly awaited e mail from designer / broker Chris White in Jan 2007.

We had been looking for a suitable boat to take the family sailing for some time. We knew the design we wanted and had a budget, however, availability was the key issue. Chris had persuaded the owner of one of his 46ft boats to consider sale, so we had to take it seriously. The Boat had been built over a 5-year period and was launched in 1997. She had sailed some 20000 miles when the owner / builder had a fatal aeroplane accident, and title had passed to his brother who had sailed her a few thousand miles and then laid her up. She had been in the yard since 2001.

After seeing a number of photos I went to New Hampshire to view the boat and see what equipment went with her as she was in quite a state. The Engines were 100 miles from the boat, the instruments had been taken out, deck hardware was missing, hatches needed refixing, the water heater was past repair and plumbing and electrical systems needed serious attention. In addition the boat and mast needed painting: a considerable job on a 46ft catamaran.

Returning to England I really thought it was too much of a project, too far from home, with too much risk. Perfect, right up our street.

We discussed it for several weeks and then in consultation with Chris White worked out a basic scheme and time frame to get the boat out of the yard and south before the snow set in. We would have the yard in New Hampshire get the boat ready for sea, and the skilled boat builder in the Chesapeake do some woodwork repairs, system installations and some custom modifications to help us while cruising.

We made an offer and accepted the counter and in early October I went back to new Hampshire to accept the boat and inventory and commission the yard to install the new engines and ready the boat for a 650mile delivery south. I would be back in 2 weeks.

Driving back to the airport the “two happiest days” adage came into mind and I wondered why I didn’t feel happy: in fact nervous and apprehensive were more descriptive.

November 3rd found me driving back to the boat wondering just how much the yard had achieved in my absence. The plan had been to have 3 days ashore then launch the boat. It was apparent fairly early on that I would need more time ashore. Working hard we managed to get the boat ready and finally the hulls touched the water on 12th November. My Father in law arrived and we spent the week preparing the boat further and after sea trials on 16th moved the boat past the fixed bridges to another yard to have the mast stepped. We had arranged for the mast to be delivered to the new yard by low loader together with the boom and headsail furling gear, and over the weekend prepared the rig for stepping. Saturday saw our 3rd crew member, Steve, arrive, and after victualing the boat and disposing of the hire car all we needed was the rig stepped, sails bent on and we were ready to go.

Monday saw an efficient team step the mast and after a few hours of work we were ready.

I paid the yard bill and checked the weather and at 1600 19/11 we slipped lines heading for Norfolk Virginia via NewYork city.

We had been really lucky with the weather and although cold, the skys had been clear. The past weekend had been windy and with the front passing on Sunday we had wind from the north West at 15-20kts. Perfect for shakedown. We were making good progress and decided to push on to the Cape Cod Canal. We arrived at the entrance at 4am within an hour of the tide change in our favour…great, lets push on.

The early hours saw calm conditions and we motored through Buzzards Bay at dawn past Cuttyhunk and Block island and approached the Race and entrance to Long Island Sound at 1600 20/11. The Weather had turned overcast and the wind had picked up from the south so we decided to head in to New haven for our first night ashore. We found a quiet berth next to a restaurant and bar, and although we were too late for the restaurant we had a few drinks and a good nights sleep after our first 250 miles offshore.


The following day we had planned to see William Robins (Winkie) in Stamford so only had a short hop down the coast, some 40 miles. We refreshed ourselves and the boat and headed off arriving at about 1600 on 21/11. Winkie was there to meet us and informed us that he had been left in charge of the marina so we could tie up where we liked. We quickly secured the boat and debunked via West Marine and the supermarket to Brennans in Stamford. Over cocktails and dinner we went through the charts for our trip down the coast to Norflok and further to the Bahamas. A trip Winkie had done with Richard Scott Hughes in his gamefishing boat “Bounty Hunter”.

On Thursday morning we slipped lines before dawn to head down the sound and catch the tide for the trip down the East river through New York. Thanksgiving day was magnificent with clear blue sky’s and not a breath of wind. We motored through New York with the tide under amazed at our proximity to the city. By 9.30am we were opposite the United Nations building and by 10.30 we had passed the statue of Liberty and Ellis island and were under the Verrazano Bridge heading for sandy hook and the Atlantic. New York had been spectacular.


The wind was now picking up and we had a front approaching which meant that the wind was from the South at 18-29Kts and it was pretty much on the nose with a 5 short swell. It was unpleasant, but we knew it was just a matter of time until the front passed and the wind would clock to North West and we would be on our way. We decided to put into Manesquan, some 70 miles from New York. We arrived at 16.45 and surfed through the entrance on the incoming swell. We found a berth on the fuel dock and tied up for the night. After tidying up we found a friendly restaurant and had dinner, a few drinks and an early night ready for a fresh breeze and a fast run the following day.

We slipped lines at 6am and set out in the lea of the land with 25-30 Kts from the North West. 2 reefs in and half Genoa and we were cruising, making some 10-16kts of boat speed, autopilot on and very comfortable. The conditions became more uncomfortable as we crossed the entrance to the Delaware, and we all agreed that we should push on with the offshore route rather than go into the wind up to the Delaware Chesapeake canal which had been our original plan.

We continued to make fast progress and as soon as we had cleared the Delaware entrance the seas moderated and fully committed we headed on to Norfolk Virginia.

At dawn on 24/11 we arrived at the Bridge Tunnel Bridge marking the entrance to the Chesapeake bay having covered 220 miles in 24hours. We found a berth at Cobbs Marina and Steve made his way to the airport for his return to the UK.

We had planned to arrive at the yard in Mobjack Bay on Monday, so on Sunday we sailed up the Chesapeake and spent a peaceful evening at anchor.
I had vaguely arranged with a boat builder that I would arrive at his yard sometime around the 26th . Having been so late leaving New Hampshire I was unsure if we would make it, but was pleased we had. We spent the next 2 days going through the work list and budget and left Pegasus in good hands on 28/11 with a return date set for early February 2008.

We are a family of four about to go sailing for a while. We have bought the boat we wanted, have had modifications done and have been on board since the end of February 2008.

We spent the winter getting used to the boat and cruised the Bahamas. We left in June 08 and arrived back in the UK July 1st and have since been in our home port of Cowes.

Having done a major refit we are now ready to depart and plan to leave on Sunday 21st September heading South possibly to Camaret (N France), Bayona (N Spain) or Madera, depending on our Weather Window.....beware the Biscay....