Friday, 22 August 2008

McQ: Ailsa Craig

This blog is dedicated to my friend Mark Dence- if someone could let him know that would be great.
A long time ago we were sailing to Largs, I think, and there is a big rock in the way called Ailsa Craig However hard we tried we just could not get past it, we would almost get past and then it would be Mark's watch's go and for watch after watch would come on deck and Mark would be driving still with Ailsa Craig to one side or the other of us!!! I imagine he was as frustrated as the rest of us!!! But it was very funny at the time to blame him for our incapability of sailing past Ailsa Craig. I guess you had to be there but it kept us entertained for a bit!!
Yesterday in Baffin Bay was a bit like this: tacking past Ailsa Craig sized and shaped icebergs and despite our chart telling us we were making progress it felt that we were going back and forth past the same iceberg in the gloom!!!

After our evening interlude into barely the entrance of Pond's Inlet against the tide (kinda painful!!) we are now stonking south poled out with 25 ish knots of wind behind us!!!
Lots of bergs about though and vis rubbish, Kevvo coping well with driving which makes it easier to focus on finding bergs emerging out the gloom!!!
This considered, I am reluctant to ETA but I am going for 1400UTC 24th September (tied up, alongside, Falmouth), so no need to worry mum- you should definitely still go on your hols!!!

Lots of love from a very tired
McQ
xxx

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