Tuesday 19 September 2017 – Split

Plan A for today was to go to Split.  It is 25 miles away and we hoped to set off by 8am (if someone was around to untie our lines).  We were wakened at about 6am by heavy rain, thunder and lightening.  Richard then got up and looked up the weather forecast and said that we weren’t going anywhere.  The forecast was for gale force winds.  So we went back to bed.

When we finally got up I wasn’t so sure that we should stay where we were in such weather.  Although we seemed to be safe it was very uncomfortable and if the sea got up more it would be really dangerous getting in and out of the dinghy which would mean staying on the boat all day in nasty conditions.  So we thought maybe we could get over to the marina on the other side of the bay and take shelter there.  Richard telephoned them and they couldn’t understand him and just hung up.  Then Richard looked at the weather forecast again and to his surprise it had been updated and wasn’t looking too bad.  There was going to be some rain and a fore 5-6, but it would be a following wind, which meant we could just put up the Genoa and go like the clappers.  So we decided to leave.

I spoke to one of the Australians on the boat next to us and they kindly agreed to untie our lines and fend us off their boat.  That went well and so in full wet weather gear off we went.

For the first three hours everything went to plan.  It was grey and quite cold.  There wasn’t much wind to start with, but we did put up the Genoa.  Most of this time we were sailing between islands.  We even started sailing, with no engine on!  As soon as we left that sheltered water the wind started to build and Richard noticed a big black storm cloud coming our way.  It didn’t take long for us to be in an horrendous squall.  The wind built up to 28 knots gusting over 30 or perhaps gale force 33.  The rain lashed down.  The sea got very confused with about 2 metre waves knocking us all over the place.  Also the wind which had been from behind went more or less on the nose.  The worst part was the Genoa.  It was flapping all over the place going into the wind, so we tried to take it in, but the furling line got caught up on one of the forward cleats and we couldn’t do anything. 
The damn thing just flapped all over the place and the sheets got terribly tangled and knotted on the port guardrail so even when the wind went down to 20 knots the Genoa would have been useless as we were on port tack.  That meant we couldn’t even sheet it in to protect it.  It was bashing about so much I was sure it was going to rip and blow out.

All this lasted just over an hour.  Finally we could see the dark cloud retreating.  Richard made way towards the port where we hoped to find calmer water, so that one of us could go forward and release the furling line.  In the meantime I was able to pull the sheets in and untangle them, so the sail stopped flapping about so wildly.

Neither of us were keen to go forward, but I thought I would be the best candidate on the grounds that if I was lost overboard Richard could turn the boat around and rescue me and Richard and the boat would be OK, where that wouldn’t be the case of Richard went overboard.  But then R got a brilliant idea.  He could go through the boat and up the forward hatch with a boat hook and release it that way perfectly safely.  And that worked!  Of course nothing goes smoothly in these circumstances.  We got the sail about 2/3 in when one of the sheets got caught, this time on the stowed passerelle.  So off Richard went up to hatch with his boathook and again released the sheet and I managed to get the sail furled before anything more happened.

By this time the wind was down to 14-15 knots and dropping and we were in sight of the marina where we were heading.  We got the boat ready to moor without trouble and are in a well appointed calm and safe marina.  The sun even came out for about an hour this afternoon.

We are taking it easy after the exertions of the day.  We will eat in the marina.  The marina is about a 30 minute walk from the old town of Split.  There is also a water taxi that can take you there or ordinary taxis.  We will do that tomorrow.


Last thoughts.  This is only the second time since we came to the Med that we have been caught in gale force winds for any time.  The first was when we hit a Mistral in Toulon.  On both occasions we were very impressed by the way the boat behaved.  It takes big seas well, being quite heavy for its size.  We are thankful for that.

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