Rather than waken to that sleepy headed realisation that the sun was peeking out from behind a cloud and morning had broken; most of the crew had a very rude awakening if they slept at all! At anchor in Dublin Bay, the wind had increased steadily, gusting 30 knots, throughout the night leaving us alternately sleeping on one side and then the other with absolutely no effort on the part of the owner! The Lord Nelson was tossing and turning like a race horse flaring its nostrils and ready for the gun to go off and get out of the stalls!
Breakfast was something of a ‘rodeo’ affair, after which the anchor party got ready in the foc’s’le under the watchful eye of our BM’s Les and Kate, then poised for action, we weighed anchor, set sails and hung on for dear life – well, that’s how it felt – exhilarating! Everyone was on the upper decks clad in their yellow foul weather gear, as Nellie rose to the challenge, lifted her skirts ready to run and rolled her way spectacularly through the foaming watery mountains of waves. The inclinometer has had 35degrees either way so far, and the crashing sounds from the galley have simply added to the excitement – honestly Cookie! If it wasn’t stuck down or clung onto, it made a bid for freedom. It was a very quick lesson in how to lash the decks both above and below in order to tame the items that suddenly sprang into life and took flight.
BM Leslie was to all intents and purposes, ‘milked’ from head to toe – I think she was waiting for the honey to follow but we took mercy on her and mopped her up! We have had speeds in excess of nine knots over the day. We’ve been visited by the Irish coast guard helicopter who apparently thought it would be hilarious to have a drill on this sailing bucking broncho – but thankfully Captain Neil saw sense and suggested they leave it ‘til another time! Winds are due to decrease over night and the swell is forecast to reduce too, so a welcome sleep later we hope. Amazingly in all the excitement of the white knuckle ride, no one has suffered the ‘mal de mer’ – the sea trials of leaving Glasgow now seem a distant memory.
More later.....
Rachel
MP LN