Thursday 11 August 2011

Lee and Danielle

El Capitano and Dael were up early today for some summer cruising with Lee and Danielle, we arrived at the marina and the prospects were good, no wind and a calm sea inside the harbour which usually means good cruising conditions and the opportunity to safely have some fun on the deep blue superhighway.
On boarding, life jackets were fitted and a safety drill given, engine started, music on and we were ready to go, Dael took care of the ropes and we were off away from the berth, there was still numerous jelly fish around as we left the pontoon.We headed straight out to sea, nervous excitement in anticipation of opening the throttle and getting on the plane and a fast cruise towards Isle of Tarbarca.
As we neared the harbour exit a quick check on the passengers, all seated, life jackets fastened, right, ready to go, full throttle out of the harbour and guess what..... we were greeted with a heavy swell and one metre waves, we were going nowhere today in these conditions and an inexperienced crew, after all it was supposed to be a pleasure cruise for our friends. I turned the boat into the waves which apart from being uncomfortable was potentially a dangerous situation to be in, so we throttled back and rode the waves a while then turned and headed back to the safety of the harbour walls, so disappointed, but I thought it wise not to press on unnecessarily.Safety first.
Fortunately the harbour is large, so a steady cruise in safety is quite a pleasant experience in itself, you get time to have look around, see the submarine and tall ships, even stopped for a while just to observe a boat lift being carried out, it also gave an opportunity for Lee and Danielle to steer the boat for themselves, something which would be more difficult on the open sea. After a hour or so we headed back to the pontoon, Dael was ready with the pole as we manouvered into the berth with the marina attendant ready to assist in passing the ropes to tie the stern, these guys are really helpful.So we quickly secured Wonderful World, stepped back onto land and proceeded to Nautic for a very welcoming cafe en vaso.
All in all, quite a pleasurable little trip.

El Capitano  

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