31st July mid afternoon

This is the first day at sea that we all in shorts and T shirts. Really feels like we are on the way. We are heading Eastward. The sun rose over the port  bow on a clear crisp morning.

The sea is flat and the winds are lighter. We are currently motor sailing, in that order.

By the time I get to post this we should be close to Gibraltar. Our debate now is how far will the fuel get us. We are wanting to keep going as long as possible on this first leg. We have over 50% left in the tanks so theoretically we could go for a few more days. We have food, water and fuel so lets see.

29th and 30th July

29^th  22.00

Strong tail wind.

We have been blown down the west coast of Spain and Portugal by 20 to 30 knot breeze. Cruising at 10 knots is a reality.

We had more dolphins playing around the boat at different times today. At about noon a tall ship came out of Porto and has been in sight all afternoon, unfortunately steaming and not under sail. At the moment there is a large cruise ship off our starboard beam.

One of the tests today was dodging fishing pots. We are 10 to 15 miles off shore but the water is only 200 metres deep and there are hundreds of fishing pots. In the fairly rough seas we are experiencing these are pretty tough to pick out. Their threat to us is if we ride over one we stand a good chance of getting the line stuck in the propeller. This would be very difficult to cut loose as diving in this cold bumpy sea with the strong wind would be really tough.

We have now tested and used all the systems. Water maker, washer/dryer and dish washer. All work well.

We have our night roster all worked out for tonight. Bisher is on watch now. I am going on at 4.00am so am now going to turn in.

30^th July 9.00 pm

We are now less than 200 miles to Gibraltar. By midnight tomorrow we hope to be in the med.

Today was fairly uneventful. Nothing special to report. Ah yes tonight we tested the oven and the microwave. Both work. Don't worry we have been eating but only using the hob top until today.

Dolphins, Sharks and gybing south.

All in that order.

An early highlight to our day was being surrounded by dolphins for about an hour this morning. We all sat up on the bow and watched them through the trampoline. We were all convinced that they knew we were there and when we talked they jumped and put on a special show. OM it was quite amazing.

The Sharks were dynamite today. Sorry weepee but you came second. Keep it up next week and make us all proud. (This will make sense to those in SA).

In about an hour we will gybe south and start heading down the coast. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a signal and provide an update.

We are planning to be in Gibraltar by late on 31st or early on the 01st.

Turning south at Cape Finnesterre

28^th July 18.20

Today has been the complete opposite of yesterday. Following seas instead of on the nose. We are making good progress and in about 3 hours we will turn South. The wind prediction looks favourable for the passage south to Gibraltar.

Biscay

Friday 27 July 12 noon.

We have now been at sea for 16 hours. Heading towards the heart of Biscay. My earliest memories aboard a ship are of a storm in the Bay of Biscay in 1968 travelling from Southampton to Cape Town.

The sea state is starting to pick up a little. We have 1 reef in the main sail and are seeing gusts up to 23 knots. We are currently heading a little north of our desired course due to a fishing fleet approx 10 mile a little ahead. We want to skirt around them.

Those of you watching the blog will start seeing the spot signals. I will send off a couple a day. This will allow you to track our progress.

Yesterday was CRAZY!!!. A mad rush non stop from 8.00 am till 8.00pm when we set sail.

3 trips to Carrefour. All of them totally filling our hire car, Ford Mondeo from Avis. The first was dry goods (non food), The second was food. The last was liquids.

Additionally there were 2 trips to the Chandlers for essential safety and boat equipment.

Once aboard and with everything packed away, we set out. Our first night aboard was straight into eating dinner and then watches.

The temperature has dropped considerable. Midday and I am in a base layer long pants hardshell outer, woolie hat and socks and shoes. When I spoke to Erika last night as we were leaving she said it was cooking hot in Larnaca.

Our Captain Christophe joined us yesterday. Welcome aboard!

Finally before I sign off we are taking pictures, but will only post these once we have a wireless link.

14.30

We now have 2 reefs in the main APS is 28kts. Lots of white caps.  Sea is about 45 deg and about 1m. Saga IV is sailing flat with minimal movement.  Very comfy. Very impressive. I have a short video to upload when we get a decent connection.

Afternoon and evening:-

Saturday 28^th 09.30am. A cold evening and night. Base layer, mid layer and waterproof/wind proof top layers. We broke the night into shifts. The roster worked well with each of us taking a 2 hour shift. This is the first time I have taken solo watch on a vessel this size and in stormy weather too. Wow, I saw 10 knots in fairly big seas. That beats any Disney theme experience.

We can see the coast of Spain now but no signal yet. I will hunt the signal and clear email and post this.  

Sea trials.

 We set of on the high tide at 8.00 am with Stephane as the training skipper. He is below on the right.

The day was a series of exercises that were a series of training exercises which included using all the major system on board. 

In between these exercises we took some time off to relax. The Captain tried out the bow area and gave this area a big thumbs up.

Whilst we were out we witnessed the most amazing site of the world 505 champs. Hundreds of dingy s out taking part in the regatta.

These plus literally hundred of other yachts out sailing in the bay require one to remain vigilant at all times.

Finally at about 8.30pm the tide was right to come back in to port, La Rochelle tower guards the port.

Sea Trials

Yesterday was all about going over Saga to check out her complex systems. This is no a simple boat.

Today we set out on our first trip. The official Sea Trials. This allows us to test all the systems and have one final check before setting out tomorrow.

La Rochelle is a great town. Very quaint and pretty. The city parks department keeps everything looking like a botanic garden.

Larnaca take note. What we call a green zone really pales next to this.

Apart from the gardens, restaurants, shops there are many old buildings and fortifications,

One of the most famous being the towers guarding the port.

Well later on I will send a spot. We are going to stop for lunch at a small island just off the coast.

:)

The real first sight

Timing was great. As the famous A-Team saying goes, I love it when a plan comes together. We all met up as planned and went of down to the Marina to take a first real look.

Walking down the key the sheer size is is immediately noticeable.

A full walk through is planned for tomorrow 9am.

Then it will be off to the chandler and the supermarket.

One last pic from the bow looking back.

D Day

By 3.30pm today the team, The "A team" should be assembled.

Latest news is that we all made it to France. Connections so far have all worked out and it is down to the TGV to get us to La Rochelle.

The weather is great. cool and sunny.

Love at first sight

Well we are almost ready to set out for the maiden voyage.

A frantic week. All the paperwork seems to be in place. Temporary registration, radio license and insurance. Chasing here and there to get it all in place. Tomorrow Saga IV moves from the shipyard to the marina in La Rochelle, and on Sunday we all set off. Me via Rome, Marwan thru Paris and Bisher from the US.

The first Pic from the builders yard looks impressive.

I will be setting up the spot so you can track us. We hope to set off next Thursday, 26th.

More news next week. 

Another great "life" adventure.

It is getting close to that time when I am about to set out on one of those "life" adventures.

I am privileged to have been asked to assist with various element of setting up, registering and taking delivery of a new yacht. She is to be named SAGA IV.

SAGA IV is a Lagoon 560. Delivery port is to be La Rochelle in France on the Atlantic west coast of France. More about that and the delivery route later. For now it is  all about admin.

Registration, Safety equipment, Insurance, Planning.

From my experiences in 2009 there are few life experiences like taking the delivery of a brand new boat. It ranks close to marriage and the birth of children.

The next month or so should be awesome.

For those of you wanting a first taste here is a youtube teaser.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-urJzxFYIXE