First news after a turbulent start
Second day of well-deserved idleness. The afternoon is quiet. Deep blue sea, blue sky, pleasant wind that pushes us to the south. Damien reads and Nathalie gets a tan.
But since our departure from Saint-Brieuc the 15 August, It hasn't always been so quiet…
The first leg between Saint-Brieuc and Brest was entirely into the wind before the wind disappeared entirely and we finished with about ten hours of engine time. Three days of rest in Brest while waiting for the delivery of a new anchor (the third from the edge).
Karine and Yvan (Nathalie's friends) welcomed us and we had a very nice time in their company. Friday 20 In August, it was not easy to set sail again under a grey sky with a very low thermometer, but the anticipation of going south (Warm sea and sun) gave us the energy and enthusiasm to face the dreaded Bay of Biscay. We will be in Madeira in eight days!
The wind didn't hear it that way. He came from the south-west and forced us to tack (The boat heeled heavily and caught the waves head-on – which shakes a lot – so not comfortable at all!). Off the tip of Spain's Finistère, just when we thought that the Bay of Biscay had let us pass without too much trouble, the wind suddenly strengthened in 15 minutes – the depression that was passing well to the north must have shifted and given more wind than expected. Rapid reduction of the sail and tacking to move away from the active area of the vacuum. Just as we were about to tack, we heard a sharp snap that shook Hibiscus and his crew. Then the bar starts to spin in the void. Cables (Drosse) connecting the steering wheel to the rudder (rudder) have broken. Don't panic because we are on autopilot and have a backup tiller. The decision was made to head to A Coruña in order to repair the. The wind was still blowing with peaks of 45 Nodes (80 km/h) And it was with a very small sail that we spent the night in the cold, in the rain and the seas crashing on the boat.
Two days in A Coruña to repair and come to our senses. The repair of the steering wheel is easier than expected because the broken chain link is replaced more solidly by a shackle and does not cost us 1,62 EUR. We take the opportunity to seal a small water infiltration and reinforce the fixing of the oven.
It's been three days since we left A Coruña and every day it's a little warmer. One less layer of clothing every day… How far are we going to go 😉 The temperature of the sea is rising by 1 degree per day… we are at 25.3°C… See you in Porto Santo (Madeira) for our first swim in the sea, probably Thursday.
Nathalie and Philippe