Claudia Harkness

Practiced some nav + new motto, NSS, no shortcuts on sails. Run eyes along the boom before any sail changes to remember topping lift, sheet, reefs, vang, halyard. Maybe docking stick should be docking plan B (on standby/reserve) not plan A.

Today we practiced docking with a fairly brisk wind blowing us off. Our first attempt at leaving the dock, we tried to use a bow spring. The boat so quickly that we never got to it. So we had to take the bowline off the cleat. So we released the line from the boat and just drifted into the channel. Regathered ourselves, came back, secured a line in the midships. So from there we used the midships docking stick and bowline to get onto the midships cleat, and we docked reasonably successfully despite the brisk wind that wanted to blow the bow off at any moment. The difficulty with that is that the wind blows the bow off, and then you actually start steering into the windward boat. So you really have to maintain control of the bow at all times. It's pretty difficult to turn around because in that moment you lose control of the bow and you're drifting. But we managed it. The docking stick was actually a significant asset in that circumstance. Then to get off the dock, we just ended up with two bow lines and stern lines. We just released the stern line first, and then very quickly the bow quickly swung in the wind, pointed us in the right direction, and we just motored out fairly stress-free. Then when it came to sailing drills, we did a couple of tacks, and then we just did MOBs. We just sailed to. Just to really get the feel for it. And then we came back and docked reasonably successfully. This time we had the midships line on a bowline, and then we attached it to a winch that was in the cockpit around the cleat with the intention that we could actually winch the boat onto the dock. But I don't think the line was the correct angle to the winch, and it just got tangled. So we had to sort that out, so better just to stick to the... sweating

Docking practice focused on repeated approaches and departures using a bow spring. Completed six to seven repetitions, securing the boat alongside using engine and rudder before rigging a stern spring to spring off safely in the prevailing wind and tide. As the tide reached its peak, one approach required a ferry glide into the berth, providing useful experience judging lateral movement and clearance. Practised man overboard recovery under power using Bob, with successful recoveries by both crew. Completed several sail-on mooring buoy approaches in light winds, strong tide and with one reef in the main. Found that, in these conditions, making multiple short tacks into the tide gave better control and a more accurate final approach than standing away on a single tack. Also practised dropping and hoisting the mainsail while on the mooring, sailing off the buoy, returning to the marina, and completing a successful final berth.

Return journey from Greece to Malta, under some degree of time pressure because we needed to catch a flight in the evening of the 28th. But we waited for the wind, which eventually, eventually came and promised us two to three days of good wind, which was going to get us to Malta in just under 48 hours. We motored the first section, saving ourselves a couple of tacks. That was just the first mile or two, then set course and basically ran a single tack all the way from Greece to Malta. Pretty much one line, occasionally steering one way or the other to stay within the optimum wind bubble. Watches worked effectively. I took the one to four watch. Beautiful, serene sailing. We had up to, I think, about 15 knots of wind, which was moving us at some points at around 10 knots. The first hundred miles were pretty quick. Then on the second day, we were ahead of schedule and there was some concern that we might arrive in the hours of darkness. My feeling was it's easier to slow down than to speed up. And as things turned out, the wind died and we did actually have to motor a little bit. We were down to three knots at one point. I turned on the port engine and we motored for a few hours before the wind came up a little bit again and we sailed in at around four to five knots. Arrived into a fairly tight anchorage, put the anchor down, and yeah, beautiful, serene trip. Saw two turtles, lots of flying fish, and just enjoyed the time and the serenity, and enjoyed sailing together with the team and with Claudia.

Raised anchor with no wind at all, motored to a beautiful but fairly crowded bay with rocks, seagrass, very clear water, some also some uncharted rocks that were just under the surface, which we spotted. Then pulled anchor after some excitement with another catamaran that came very close to a neighbouring monohull. And then had a lovely run in the afternoon, the thermal winds, where we were heading into the wind 36 degrees into the apparent wind with the Genoa and the main, making really good ground, overhauled a lot of boats, including some monohulls, sailed better into the wind than the monohulls, tacked a couple of times, tacked using furling the Genoa to get around the staysail. That all went well, raised the sail well when we did, everything went smoothly. What seemed to work best was raising the, just easing the sheet when we needed to to get the sail all the way up. And then everything was smooth, taken the sail down, just remembering to pull the furling lines into the sail bag, dropped everything smoothly, filled everything smoothly, and then motored the last mile or so to the beach, and just spotted the sand, dropped the anchor like a dart onto the sand, and pulled it to ensure it's tight, and anchored next to a Bali 48, which has got a big birthday sign, and they are clearing out of here, so we're going to have this bay to ourselves. It could be a beautiful evening.

The anchor seemed to be dragging and we were too close to the cliffs, so after some rearrangements we released the stern lines, pulled up the anchor, and sailed to another island where there was a beach. The sail took place in the last hours of the day. We arrived after the sun had set, in the twilight, but still had time to set the anchor securely and are now anchored off the beach. The island was a lot of fun. We fed the pigs; they were boisterous and it was enjoyable to engage with the wildlife, but it was the right decision to leave.