The wind we needed yesterday was here in force today. We set off in 16-18knots, with big rolling swells. It was hard to do anything down below as you needed at least three points of contact on the boat to stop yourself from falling over. It had been a while since we were in swell, so we weren’t as prepared as we probably should have been. The galley (kitchen) cupboards flew open leaving pots on the floor; the wheelhouse drawers came open displaying our hidden stash of Pringles (because who doesn’t keep crisps in their living room?); and Jeremy’s, luckily empty, water bottle was rolling around ready to cause a trip hazard.
The upside of all this meant there was nothing to do except sit and keep watch outside, for puffins! At the end of yesterday we took a big detour to Annet Island, which supposedly has 16 pairs of nesting puffins. When we visited St. Mary’s at the beginning of the week there were a number of signs advertising boat trips to see the wildlife including seals, birds and puffins. We were hoping if we went to the island it would be obvious where they were, but even with the binoculars we couldn’t spot any. Just as we were leaving the bay we saw one casually swimming along, bobbing up and down with the swell. You could just make out the short stubby beak. Sadly we passed too quickly to get a picture, so hopefully we see lots more when we get to Lundy in the Bristol channel.
By the time we’d motored out to our previous finishing point, 3 miles south of the Seven Stones lightship, the swell had picked up even more. Definitely not weather we wanted to be handling the foils in (they’re cumbersome getting on/off the boat a the best of time), so we chose the 9 and 11m kites on twin tips. Unfortunately when we launched me (Islay), my lines were twisted. Just as I was attempting to untwist them the wind picked up, I must have taken my eyes off the kite for a minute, as before I knew it I was catapulted into the air, skimming the water once maybe twice, with Stew yelling for me to pull my safety. Once I’d finished being a skipping stone and had managed to land my kite again, I was dismayed to find my line were still twisted. Looking at how they were tangled I didn’t think I’d be able to fix it while in the water, and by this time the wind had increased such that I’d be better setting off on a 7m kite instead. (The more power in the wind, the less kite you need to pull you through the water). This left us in a pickle of how to untwist the lines on the 9m, which Stew was now thinking of using. We first thought we could use the bar off the 15m kite, but by the time Stew had detached it, he’d been head down in the boat for too long and had started feeling sea sick. (The full sound affects we heard over our headsets). So I got back out the dinghy, where Jeremy and I had been waiting and started to fix lines I’d tangled while in the water. This lead to the same thing, just as I’d finished with the lines I too fell victim to sea sickness. With both of us not feeling our best and the swell now too big to get into the dinghy safely, we decided it was better to call it a day and head back to Tresco (Isles of Scilly).
We had to wait for the high tide to get back into our anchorage between New Grimsby and Brhyer. There’s a small channel between the two islands which at low water you can walk between. This gave us a chance to eat lunch and have a quick nap.
Feeling slightly disappointed by the unsuccessful morning, and wanting to make the most of the wind we all got wet-suited up and headed out to the beach. Even though both Jeremy and Joe were dubious they had enough power, we all got out for a fun freestyle session. With Joe making his first back roll! Both Stew and I saw it, so it’s official. Next time we’ll need to get it on camera!
Wind looks good for tomorrow, so hopefully more success then. We’ve decided to start from here and kite out, rather than trying to start in the middle of the channel where there’s more swell.As the production is now not protected to any company, all the companies are producing the viagra 100mg pfizer that is of similar working and lower cost medicine. But the truth is that there are now more unica-web.com generico levitra on line ways for people to get the issue diagnosed. Herbal products are constructed of 100 % organic substances that viagra cheapest price are developed to enhance blood veins circulation. This aids to produce a suitable functioning of the muscle sensors, relaxation of the corpora nervosa and the blood flow india sildenafil rate which results in increasing sexual wish in the women.
The Seven Stones light ship marks a 2 mile x 1mile stretch of reef between lands end and the Isles of Scilly. Visible at half tide this is estimated to be the cause of over 200 shipwreks, the most famous amongst them the oil tanker SS Torrey Canyon. When it hit the reef on 18 March 1967 it was the largest ship to ever be wrecked, with a capacity of 20,000 short tons (110,000 t) of crude oil. In an attempt to contain the oil spill the RAF attempted to set the oil alight, however high tides kept putting out the blaze. In the end 161 bombs, 16 rockets, 1,500 long tons (1,500 t) of napalm and 44,500 litres (9,800 imp gal) of kerosene were used, but still the oil leaked out.
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