Second Wind

Interesting name......Second Wind, a Leopard 58 catamaran destined for
Malta. Prior to getting ready for departure, Second Wind was entered in
the Mykonos race. When the owner expressed his wish that we should enter I
thought it crazy, a week before the race. But in good time we completed
all the paperwork, paid all our dues, and had our vessel rated. The day of
the race we were up bright and early and were bobbing around the starting
line with a fleet of other boats. There was precious little wind, and the
little there was, was also from the wrong direction :-) But we tried.
Tacking this way and that way and slowly making progress forward. Our boat
was by quite a margin the biggest boat in the fleet, and we do need a bit
of wind to get us going. After an hour of getting nowhere slowly we decided
to start a motor and motorsail the rest of the way, in racing terms it
means we retired from the race. The Mykonos race is an annual event
starting in Cape Town and ending at Mykonos in the Langebaan lagoon. At
once stage much to our amusement we were leading the multihull class,
competing against fast racing trimarans. If I recall correctly there were
over 100 yachts competing. Due to our rating we were doing exceptionally
well. Our aim was to take part in the event for the fun of it, and also to
test our brand new boat properly before we take her on the long voyage to
Malta.

We arrived just before midnight and tried to anchor where the race
organisers allocated a spot for us. It was inside the Mykonos marina, and
very cramped for space on a big vessel such as ours. All the moorings were
full, and we did not feel safe at our anchorage. We thus decided to rather
anchor just outside the marina and wait for the morning to make a better
plan. At 8am we made contact with the race organisers again and were
allocated a mooring buoy at Yachtport on the other side of the lagoon. 10
out of ten for the race organisers. They exceeded our wildest expectations.
They also had a shuttle arranged for us and we thoroughly enjoyed a lovely
day at Mykonos. Later the afternoon the prize giving proceeded in very
windy conditions and we all filled the pubs and restaurants after the
event. It was me and my crew's first Mykonos race. Taken all the funds and
time and effort that goes into the race, I was surprised that a year's hard
work for most participants was rewarded so low key. No media was present,
no speeches made by the winners or the second places. The trophies were
minute. IT IS A GREAT EVENT !!! Massive amounts of fun, and hardcore
sailing too. Share the fun !!!

Probably around ten pm we were shuttled back to Yachtport. To get to our
yacht on the mooring buoy was an interesting challenge. There was a small
dinghy that we could use to row over. Two needed to row and only space for
one passenger. With the wind pumping we had to row quite hard at an acute
angle to not get blown into the lagoon but made it safely to our yacht.
The other three saw that we struggled somewhat and woke up another yachtie
with a bigger dinghy and he kindly rowed them over and stayed for some
refreshments. Sunday morning we were allocated a berth in the Mykonos
marina and made our way over. We dwarfed all the other vessels there but
managed to squeeze in and tie the mooring lines down. Lovely place to sit
and socialize a bit, lots of friends and passers-by who stopped to have a
chat and a few were invited to have a tour of the boat. A most agreeable
day was had by all. Monday morning early we were on our way motoring back
to Cape Town, again against the wind :))) Light winds fortunately and just
before sunset we were back at our berth at the V&A marina.

The next event we prepared for was the christening of Second Wind. The
date was set for 12 March, the day of the Argus race. The cyclists that
trained all year for the event and made their way to Cape Town was shocked
that the race was cancelled, the first time in 40 years if I recall
correctly. The wind was blowing so hard that the cyclist could make no
progress. I saw some footage of bicycles being held on like kites being so
light. A few contestants were some of our guests and it was inspiring to
hear how they felt about the race on the day. After the race was officially
cancelled a few cyclist still tried to unofficially complete the race, but
it was really impossible. Back to the christening event. My crew were given
the opportunity to host the event and worked closely with the owner to
create a wow event. Wearing Second Wind specific uniforms we not only
looked the part, I am sure everyone will agree that the crew makes a dream
team. Sushi platters, cocktails and champagne was enjoyed by all and at 7pm
Second Wind was officially christened.

During the course of the above events we also enjoyed a couple of day sails.
The last day sail we had before we started to prepare for the long voyage to
Malta was truly magic. We decided on a leisurely sail around Robben Island.
Halfway there we saw a thick bank of fog crawling in between Lion's Head and
Table Mountain. An hour after we were totally surrounded by fog, and all we
coud hear was the fog horn on Mouille Point sounding every so often. A whale
or two also made an appearance and a seal also lazily waved into the air.
Fortunately we have radar and AIS on board and could see exactly where we
were in relation to land and other vessels. A surreal experience, cocooned
like that. I have sailed in heavy fog without radar once before, probably one
of the most tense experiences I've had on the ocean. As we motored back to
Cape Town the fog lifted just before we entered the harbour.

It was now time to get ready for our voyage and final provisioning was done.
We are five on board and later will be joined in Madeira and then in Cadiz we
have three more crew joining us. We thus provisioned accordingly, loads and
loads of groceries. We did a few final preventative maintenance and sorted a
final few snags. I have been keeping an eye on the weather for a few days and
on Monday 10 April a window opened up for us. A few other yachts departed at
the same time. The first few hours we motored into light winds, and as was
predicted, the wind direction turned from NW to SW to S and settled at SSE.
Tuesday morning it was still light SW and we rigged our screecher and
mainsail on 1st reef, getting an angle just aft of the beam. Soon we were
leaving a long white track behind us sailing along at a steady 10kts. The
wind speed gradually increased and backed to S. Time to furl the screecher
and tried with the main and genoa to run on a broad reach. We did well for a
while but us the wind was coming more and more from behind us we decided to
drop the main and just sail with the genoa opened out wide. Wednesday morning
we hoisted the gennikar and made excellent miles. As the wind velocity
increased we dropped the gennikar and could sail with the genoa alone. We
could anticipate the changes in weather and work our sails accordingly. Great
to have all these options available. Thursday we expected the wind to get
fairly strong and stay strong until Saturday, which is exactly what it did.
Strongest wind we had was 35kts and the swell about 4mtrs. Following winds
and seas as the saying goes. Well done to the crew for trusting the boat and
not getting to scared when it got just slightly wild :) Through Friday night
the wind very slowly started easing off, and Saturday morning we could fly
the gennikar again. Smooth and fast.

Our watches are somewhat shorter than usual, nice to have 5 crew on board.
3hr watches gives us all lots of time to rest and read and do all the other
things we do when sailing. The days are started to flow one into the other
and we are getting into the motion of the ocean. We are relaxed yet always
stay alert. Do the daily routine maintenance to make sure all is well and
stay well. I have done a crossing with Richard, my 1st Mate before, and we
have definitely got a dream team on board. More about them later.

We are also doing a little documentary on our voyage. The owner has made a
drone available, and we have two gopros on board as well. On top of that a
professional to edit and sort all the footage with background music. The boyz
have not really started fishing yet, we have been goin a bit too fast the
last few days, but I hear tomorrow they will make a serious effort.

We are exactly 900nm from St.Helena and already looking forward to touching
base with some long time friends there again. Hope you are having a great
weekend and blessed Easter to one and all.

Paul