We forgot to post anything yesterday, but it was also quite rough all day. The grib files told us we should expect 25-30 knots of breeze which we most of the time also got. The thing however is that you should always prepare for gusts with 50% higher wind speed in squalls than forecasted. Normally we do not cruise on 30 knots forecast but being confident in the boat and gear and with a strong wish to get the boat north we decided that it would be OK. Well – we found that squall with gust at 47 knots, lasted for a minute, and apart from us building up more respect for the forces of the nature nothing really happened. We had reefed a lot and the boat was balanced so after all it was just a new experience for our book. Our top speed on the trip was 13.2, which is not too bad for a 46 tons ship. Swell from w/nw has been around 4 meters high and the same has the waves following the wind direction. This has made even this boat roll and move a lot, but Cottee is now certified as an ocean sailor!
We are now about to start the climbing up the river in towards Brest. It will for sure feel like climbing a river because we have not timed the tide very well as we will have falling water the whole way in and can probably expect up to 5 knots of current on the narrowest passages. Hopefully we will be docked before 2200 ready for a good night sleep!
Cottee, Maren and Karl Otto
