Hauled out at Lagos in Portugal
Once I felt a bit rested at the Marina of Kernevel, I slipped my lines on July 21st. The burn on my face had resolved itself and I had instructions to continue using an ointment twice a day for two weeks to help fully heal the cornea in my left eye. That marina was just across the water due south of the Submarine Base where I spent a few weeks preparing earlier. I had been keeping an eye on the wind forecast trying to figure out how to exit the Bay of Biscay.
It had been a long process since June 2023 when I committed to buying CLARA; I was finally sailing her single handed.
It took me five days to exit the Bay of Biscay navigating the weather systems and wind holes that they created. I had feared heavy traffic around Cap Finisterre on the northwest corner of Spain, which turned out to be very manageable and soon I was heading west. While I had the general direction of the Azores in my mind, I did not want to fall in wind holes created by the Azores High which can be fickle. This was not a race to the Azores, rather a sailing journey to log a minimum of 2,000 single handed nautical miles to meet one of the qualification requirements for the Golden Globe Race. I had over 10,000 miles of offshore sailing but none solo. My goal was to register those solo miles on this outing. To keep the boat moving, I chose to stay in the windy areas as forecast by PredictWind. I would also consult my weather router friend Jason Christensen to make sure that I did not have any surprises.
The Hydrovane served as a tireless crew member to maintain the point of sail that I would choose. I hardly steered at all.
Simon Curwen had chafing issues with his genoa halyard. He would periodically drop the genoa to inspect the halyard then rehoist after shortening the halyard if required. Adding a fairlead below the sheave at the mast top for better aligning the halyard, had not resolved the issue it turned out.
CLARA did not have a traditional galley. A gimballed platform supported a single burner stove and a JetBoil stove. The JetBoil was the preferred option for most needs.
The table in the cabin was removed to reduce clutter and weight and to improve ease of movement. This meant that I either would sit on one of the settees or by the companion way to enjoy my meals and drinks.
Reading was a wonderful pastime. Without the distractions on land, I could just be.
I had the books by Sir Robin Knox Johnston, Joshua Slocum and Bernard Moitessier to finish on this journey.
On August 14th, I dropped anchor at Lagos by the beach near the marina entrance. I had to wait there for two days until my scheduled haul out at the Sopromar boatyard.
With CLARA settled on her keel with side props to keep her upright, I could begin the necessary work. The marina was a secure facility, so I planned to leave until December when I would return to complete any remaining work before launching toward the Canaries then the east coast of the United States.
Between July 21 and August 14, I covered 2,257 nautical miles sailing a route single handed which started at Lorient in France and concluded at Lagos in Portugal. This distance exceeded the minimum requirement of 2,000 solo nautical miles by the Golden Globe Race. This was a successful summer.