We were wondering how we would fill this weeks blog given we were expecting to be on the boat for at least 7 days, what would there be to mention? Quite alot actually it seems..... Apologies for the occasional note style of some of the writing but we had to write down some details each day as they blend into each other with a stunning sunset in between.
Monday, We departed 1230pm after filling up water and fuel. This was a day later than planned but neither of us were 'feeling it' to depart on a 7 day or longer trip just one day after arriving there. Besides, the marina was surrounded by bars and restaurants with a lively crowd. It was windy to start but soon fell away but not so much that the engine was needed. Dolphins arrived for their evening display for us. Vhf etiquette was stunningly poor that night. There were definately a few drunken crew (and young girls?) on ships radios culminating with another person telling them to "shut the f@#k up"! They didnt. The wind was dead behind us, a pattern to repeat for next 3 days until Algiers.
Tuesday - heading across the Alboran sea towards Morocco, trying to best positon us to find a narrow strip of wind due on Wednesday approaching Algeria. It was a flat calm forecast on one side of the strip and a strong wind on the other. When it came to it we hit a bit too far into the windier side leading to Windy Wednesday below. Aiming to stay 20m off Algeria for safety, 12m territorial limit plus 8 miles tolerance, put us in with the passing ships which kept us alert on our watches. It was quite interesting radioing them to make sure they had seen us. Most were very polite and adjusted course as required. One didn't react at all, strangely he also had no ais info showing. Sanctions buster?? The ship was very unkempt. We had lost our Phone signal by now so were alone with just the vhf for communications. Late in the evening a jumping tuna was spotted, sadly not onto the end of the fishing line which was out at the time. The highlight of the night was seeing Dolphins creating phosphorescent trails as they approached the bow at speed, rolling over to look at Nigel as they passed the side of the boat. This was all under a magically clear night with a myriad of stars, topped off with two shooting stars just as the Dolphins swam around the boat.
Windy Wednesday - The Wind steadiliy increased from dawn, it was a cloudy start with 25knts dead downwind and the biggest swell we have seen so far. Steering took alot of concentration as the autopilot struggled in the conditions. As the sky cleared the wind slowly dropped and we sadly had to use the engine. Electrical storms developed as we approached Algiers ( tablet and vhf in microwave!) but we were well away from them. During the night a headwind developed for us to sail past Algiers which we could see from 25m offshore. As we sailed Kerensa was singing to us, actually a pleasant song created as wind passes through the bimini frame. There is a hole or something that plays a sound like a flute with notes changing with the wind and movement of the boat. Nigel tried to record it but wasnt succesful.
Thursday - Dawn broke to the sight of Argo, a mod70 trimaran, travelling at 15knts on the horizon in an otherwise empty ocean. Lucky for him he was going the other way or there would be a race on! Needless to say he rapidly sped away, his ais broadcasting a 15knt speed, the windspeed we recorded at the time was 5knts........ The whole day was a mix of some sailing, some motoring as the wind generally fell away as forecast. Both Thursday and Friday were forecast to be similar. We briefly saw more dolphins which are becoming less prevalent as we travel east. Motored overnight, no sailing at all.
Friday - frustrating day of sailing and motoring. Sails out, sails in, motor on, motor off. Thank you Paul K for reminding me that the Med can be frustrating sailing and to remember the alternative is to be in an office! We did however get a lovely evening/ night sail with 10knts close reach toward Tunisian waters. Amanda spotted a turtle 30 miles from the coast looking very vulnerable on the surface. During the night we had a moment with large ship approaching from behind on a collision course. As an experiment Nigel decided to shine a torch on our sails and the ship immediately made a large course change. No radio needed!
Saturday - A lovely downwind sail in the morning, the motor was off and hasnt been used since at the time of writing. After two days of light and fickle weather the wind had come back! As we entered Tunisian waters their Navy called to identify us and our destination. The timing was so immaculate they must have been tracking our approach carefully. Later en route they called to ask why we had gybed, and again to see why we were going so slowly. There was no wind at the time. Big brother or genuine interest in our safety? At this point we were able to activate our esims in our phones and get back on line and were able to catch up with family and friends. As we write we are currently on a downwind sail en route to Monastir, Amanda is contemplating making dinner in a rolling kitchen. We will arrive at Monastir on Sunday evening, before dark if the wind keeps up. If not we will stand off until daylight as there is mention about lots of tuna nets in the area there and not approaching at night.
Edit - Didn't get time to post before we arrived, but we ended up standing off in the dark as there were too many nets and pots to risk a dark entry. We spent the night moving very slowly in 18knts in very deep water to avoid pot risk listening to the gale warnings for further north where we had just past through. In the morning, exhausted, we entered Monistir to a very friendly welcome but a ton of bureaucracy to check in and to watch 2 customs guys rummage around the boat. Hearing the sad news of the sinking yacht in the above mentioned gales on BBC gave us a reality check.
We will highlight the sights of Monastir and hopefully Tunis in next weeks blog, we hope to stay for a week or so. We also have some minor repairs to sailcover zips, chafing main halyard and a fabric bimini side screen to attend to.
On our passages when there are only two of us, reading the comments makes us smile......
