Preparations

The boat, a Moody 47, named Leopard Star, was purchased from a Hamble boat yard and brought in stages from the Solent to Bristol where it was to be prepared for its trip. I was on the leg from Falmouth to Swansea, but off Lands End two of the crew were very sea sick and we had to returned to Falmouth.

The two Davids worked and lived on the boat in Bristol Docks, and Heather and I helped provision the boat on the evening of 4th August.

7th August - Departure day

After a busy drive down the M5 ( Eclipse weekend ) we all met upon the boat in Bristol Marina at 9 in the morning. About 40 friends, including Avon SC members Jane & Peter Baston, Geoff & Jo Miller, Mat Buett, Peter & Heather Keighley all came to see us off ( to make sure we really went).

After refuelling with water & diesel, we departed to a rather emotional send off at 1315 pm. We then had a half an hour wait for the road bridge and lock to open, so we took the opportunity to celebrate our departure with a bottle of champagne. It was a relief to get off at last.

At 1445 we locked out of Bristol Docks into the Avon river with two other boats ( vintage motor cruisers) which were off to Barry for the weekend. We were soon motoring beneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge and under the M5 which was still clogged up with traffic. We had good views of the two Severn road bridges - a new sight for me.

1745- Little wind, motoring at 7.5 knots with 5 knots of tide between Flat Holm & Steep Holm.

The watches were split into 6 hour shifts with a new crew coming on duty every 3 hours This ensured there was always one person who understood the current shipping movements and one who was reasonably fresh .I did the 0300 - 0900 and 1500 - 2100 watches. The first watch passed uneventfully and I managed to get some sleep in the port peak bunk which was fitted with lee cloths.

8 th August

0115 - passing between Lundy Island and Hartland Point now motor sailing in a NE 2/3.

0620 - the engine off at last, full sail - 6 knots - wonderful, peace at last. We had a trailing generator to trickle charge the battery which enabled us to use the self-steering gear while it was not too rough. It also enabled us to use the radar to track the shipping movements overnight.

0810 - now very heavy rain, wind NE force 4/5, and we put the first reef in the mainsail. All a bit wet.

1400 - saw two small Sharks swimming off Lands End.

1500 - abeam Wolf Rock. Logged 166 Miles in the first 24 hours. We saw several of the Fastnet Race boats coming back under spinnaker, with the slower boats still beating towards Ireland.

9 August

A clear night, with no moon but with lots of shooting stars. David Lynall took the opportunity to practice with his guitar (is there no end to his talents?) Later the wind died, leaving us with a lumpy sea: difficult to steer or sleep very well in my bunk - crashing sea and engine noise.

0600 – wind got up to NW force 3 to 4. Full sail and sun -good sailing again.

1100 – the first 300 miles, already much further than I had sailed before in one hop. We are about 120 miles west of Brest. No ships, just sun, sea, and wind - perfect.

Antony starts fishing over the stern, so we slowed the boat down to four knots (the optimum speed for young fit mackerel). Caught four, so speeded up again. They were cooked with lemon, butter & fresh pepper. Very tasty - how well we live!

1200 - had our first Gin & Tonic -how can life get better (honest, we rationed ourselves to one drink a day!)

1230 - now sailing at 7.5 knots and four dolphins came out to play with us - a great sight!

Two reefs in overnight and a boom preventer. No boats sighted all night.

10 August

At dawn the wind eased and we shook out the reefs. The wind then dies to Force 2 and we motor sail. More dolphins.

0600 - motor off, sailing again.

1900 - cooked Chicken Korma & Rice for supper. Saw ships again!

1915 WSW 3/4 -5.5knots and a smooth sea , 500 miles under our belt.

2000 - 80 miles NE of Finisterre, sighted a 25-30ft whale.

Overnight we saw a vessel displaying, in addition to normal lights, a yellow flashing light: was it a fishing boat, a slow hovercraft, a submarine or a floating JCB, we wondered?

11 August

Little wind all day, hot and sunny. Some of the eclipse seen: it went a little colder, but it was a bit of a non-event for me.

Motorsailed down the Spanish coast (not that we were near enough to see it).

Saw pilot whales and more dolphins - a great lazy day.

Tried to phone home but Heather was out again. Later used the satellite phone as there was no signal from the mobile.

The wind came up at about 1830 - windy night, 3 reefs and not much sleep.

Made a bread and butter pudding out of some of the now-stale bread - yum yum!

12 August

Windy Northerly Force 5-6-7. From a previous shipping forecast there was talk of a new deepening low in the area, but could not get any subsequent future reports due to weak reception. David phoned the Bracknell Weather Centre who were most helpful. They advised us that the Force 6 we were getting at present would increase only a little and the low would then fill.

With 2 reefs in the main and only half a Genoa we hit 9.2 knots (off the crest of a wave).

Overnight we dropped the main and just ran under a bit of Genoa at 6.5 knots.

Not much sleep again, and although we had lee cloths, my head kept banging on the side of the bunk. Tried to line the bunk with bedding, but eventually like the rest of the crew gave up and came up on deck.

Cabin in a bit of a mess - David will have to store more securely for his World trip.

0500 - saw land for the first time since the Isles of Scilly, 5 days ago.

0900 - Safe water mark at the river entrance to Lisbon.

1100 - Sailed under Lisbon bridge and the sun is shining. We had a large G & T and a bottle of Champagne to celebrate.

1130 - Doca de Lacantra Marina, Lisbon. Stern-to-bow to buoy - 914 logged miles!

We tidied up the boat a bit and at 1400 we all went to bed for a good sleep.

Up at 1800 for a night on the town, and the rest is censored but involved an Irish Pub, a tattoo and the Cheltenham 4 singing group. The next day was spent sightseeing in Lisbon.

On Sunday, took a taxi to the airport and caught the 1800 flight home.

All in all, a very good trip and a wonderful experience. It may sound a bit dull at times, but it did have some memorable moments - like sitting in the cockpit at 3 in the morning under the clear night sky, watching all the galaxies complete with shooting stars: it certainly puts life into perspective.

Would I go again? Yes, without hesitation. Have bag, will travel. Any time, any boat.

George Keighley