Well that was a big wrench. We have finally left Lagos. After a great 7 months we set sail eastwards leaving behind some great memories (and some even better friends).
We had planned to leave early Friday when Murray and Alan arrived but a depression and front coming through made us reconsider as we didn’t want to do an overnight passage in the rain! Murray and Alan arrived on sked on Thursday evening and we spent Friday doing the final prep to leave and stocking up the boat. Friday evening it poured down so that was a good call. We went up to Petisco, our favourite restaurant in Lagos and challenged Alan to eat all he was given. He duly failed. Back to Lazy Jacks to listen to Duncan (ex Somebody’s cousin) but he wasn’t on so we stayed for the other guy who sounded awful with the new sound system they have go there. Time to move on – methinks! Lazy Jacks though was great and it wouldn’t have been the same without it. Place to miss for us was the Blue Door restaurant. I won’t say why here but we would never go back there again despite the nice food. Trust us. Go to Petisco instead.
So after saying our farewells to those liveaboards left (Steve & June, Jacky & Rob and Liz & Ju) we set off eastwards heading to Gibraltar early Saturday morning (not been up at 7am for many a morning!). We sailed with Tony & Margaret on China Blue expecting zero wind for the first 6 hours then it building to 25 knts for the overnight period. The forecast was pretty much bang on except there was a lot more swell around. This meant motoring with no sales up (or even sails for those of you not heavily into shopping) until mid afternoon and those susceptible to sea-sickness needing some help. As the wind increased so did the swell and it just got worse and worse. Bogey no mates was struggling. He was green. Well that’s no difference then! Put him in his lee cloth and that was the last we saw of him.
Despite the swell, the wind gave us a great downwind sail and we helmed all the way. Two on, two off. Pam was on shift with Murray and in one of my periods of sleep(!!!!!!!!) I remember Pam calling Murray up to look at the dolphins who had come to inspect the boat and give the now normal routine of “chicken” to amuse us. I thought at the time that if Pam called me – that was the last thing I would want to do. Dolphins...... now woolly mammoths , that’s a different story. If there were woolly mammoths around that would be worth seeing. I like woolly mammoths. You don’t see them often. They are fun! And woolly mammoths in the middle of Gibraltar approaches.....priceless. But Pam never saw any so I didn’t get woken up. Except for the dolphins......... now I am rambling.
We didn’t leave on Friday because of forecasted rain. Well it rained on Saturday night. I got wet. The new Henri Lloyd jacket leaked. The new DuBarry boots leaked. It wasn’t as bad as the 2007 North Sea race but almost as wet. We did take on a lot of water in the cockpit. The boat inside was very dry but it was a wet, windy and rocky night. Black as the ace of spades, no moon, stars for only half an hour and no woolly mammoths.
Dawn broke to a very grey morning with Tarifa in view but big seas and winds of 25knts made it tricky to sail. China Blue called us to say they were going to head for Barbate and then do the 40 mile last leg to Gib on Sunday but we had gone past and it would have been a difficult beat to get back to join them. Once past Tarifa, the seas miraculously calmed down and it was a great sail in the sunshine into Gib with us arriving soon after 1.30pm local time, a trip of 190 odd miles done in 29 hours.
It had been very lumpy and not a trip I would like to do every day (or even every week/year/ever). We have now crossed beating and F6 downwind of our list of approved activities. We headed for Marina Bay marina (‘cause that is the first number I called whilst fully intending to call Queensway – don’t ask!!) and despite all the bad reports of “building sites” it seems a very pleasant place. All the building work seems to have been finished and it is a lot better than it was 2 years ago last time I was here.
We went out up to town and then back to one of the marina complex restaurants. (it won’t win restaurant of the trip award so I won’t bother describing it. Everton won though! Now Everton winning a game is usually not of interest to me but this one was against United so it was great. Well done the blues. Good on you Liverpool.) I digress again! So now we are here for a couple on nights. SIteseeing tomorrow and then off east on Tuesday – if I can get an internet connection to check the weather – to maybe Albuferia to chase down Kishorn (and Trevor and Lesley – the couple responsible for Bogey no mates). Rick and Connie on Calaloo are not too far ahead either. So farewell Lagos, great place, we will be back!!!
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