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Staying
indoor was only possible lying on the floor, where I was somewhat stuck because
of this big suit. I ate some biscuits, drank a little lemonade and tried to
listen to some music. This was extremely difficult because of the wind and the
noise from the boat. All my cabinet doors were well secured, but behind the
doors everything was turned upside down. The roar from the rigging drowned out
almost everything. In a way it was calming listening to the radio, and nice to
know that despite this "hell surrounding me" there still existed a "normal"
world out there. I was exhausted and fell asleep for eight hours. I hoped that
it would all be over when I woke up.
Disappointed I woke up to realize that it had gotten even worse.
Many times during this whole ordeal I thought to myself: "Now it cannot get any
worse," which naturally was due to my lack of experience and no equipment to
inform me of wind speeds. In retrospect, I believe that it would have only made
me feel more insecure knowing that it would indeed get worse and I could follow
the increase in wind speeds. Of cause it was a southwest wind and I was headed
for the bay against all advice, but the only positive thing was that I had lots
of space. I was aware that I was heading in the wrong direction but there was
nothing else I could do besides keeping the boat in Heave to.
In the beginning I was a little nervous whether or not a wave could knock Trojka
sideways while sleeping or resting But this never happened. I only spent a few
minutes at a time inside the cockpit and hours between. I felt secure and
comfortable indoor. I strongly recommend Heaving to.
It took 42 hours before the storm had passed, and sea and wind was still
durable, so it turned out to be an unsteady trip. But once again I was heading
for A Coruña.
I'm spending too much time getting the Ullermatic to do my steering. Most of the
time I have to give up and turn on my autopilot instead.
Normandy
Normandy
Dolphins inside the Bay of Biscay |
