was quite a big swell running and at anchor,it was more comfortable
at sea than at Jamestown.Now,36 days later we are at last seeing the
lights of Madeira looming in the distance.Nearly fifty days we haven;t
slept in a bed that doesn't move.In the protected ,arina of Funchal we
will at last be able to have a bed without motion,whether we will be
able to sleep in such quiet conditions we will soon find out.Looks like
we will arrive there at first light,although arriving at night won't be
a problem either,an easy entrance and I have been here twice before.
Just love the place.Think one would love any stretch of land after an
extended period at sea,but Madeira is really avery lovely place.The
people are friendly,the fresh produce is world class and the town of
Funchal like no other I have seen.The streets have no name in the
CBD,pedestrians only and cobbled stones cover the surface.Creamish
coloured stones with greyish coloured stones forming different patterns
in every street.So once you find a shop you like you can always find it
again by just remebering the patterns,fishbone,triangular,square and so
on.
It is not an easy sail doing the last 100 miles or so.First we had to
head east until we were south of Madeira.Our weather predicted that the
wind will veer east and when it started at about 3 this afternoon,we
changed course and heading north for our final approach.As usual I take
extra care close to the end of a leg or a journey.This is when you want
to ease off just a bit thinking that you are now near,and this is when
unexpected problems can catch you off guard.When we rotated watch at 9
pm I decided to drop the main to second reef with the wind just starting
to touch 15 kts.The sea was getting a bit bumpy and I expected a bit
stronger wind to follow later.Obviously we are all very eager to get to
land,but the decision to slow down just for a while and drop a reef in
relative comfort was met without any questions by the crew.They know I
have been here before,they know I am experienced,so they won't question
my decision.When I took over watch the wind has climbed to 24 knots and
my decision was justified.And a fairly rough ride we are having at the
moment,as if our beloved ocean wants to give us an extra incentive to be
thankful when we tie down at last.
And thankful we are and thankful we will be when we step ashore,probably
wobling around like inebriated gents till we find our landlegs
again.Couple of things we need to do after we cleared customs and
immigration.Fill up one of the smaller gas cylinders,just in case our
big one runs out.Fill up the water tanks,wash Venus from head to
toe,stock up on some fruits and veggies,things like that.Oh
yes,Portuguese peri peri chicken and a beer,nearly forgot about that
one.With chips,or french fries,whatever you prefer to call it.As long as
it is something healthy and low on kilojoules.
We will watch our weather files with great interest as we would want a
nice entry into into the Med.In all probability we will leave on
Saturday weather permitting.From Madeira another two weeks to Greece.We
will post some photos and will keep posting on the blog as well.We hope
to have wireless and looking forward,as always to share some of our
experiences with you.
Thought for the day is to be thankful.Not going to elaborate on that,I
have so much to be thankful for and hope you do too.
Paul
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