MV Gjoa: On Our Way

Sunday 25 May 2014

On Our Way

Finally, finally, we have left the dock! Only three days later than our planned departure date of May 21, we left Cowes yesterday. Last-minute events seemed to be conspiring against us, we’d said our goodbyes, were feeling the pressure and wondering whether we’d ever get away when, five days before departure, a boat went out of control in the marina. It was a large, heavy boat and as it careered towards our stern-mounted and vulnerable windvane, propelled by the fierce tide that runs through the marina, we had visions of our

Gjoa at East Cowes Marina

departure being delayed significantly while repairs were made. Luckily, with some timely fending-off, we only encountered a glancing blow which rearranged the liferaft and lightly pushed the windvane paddle out of the way. Further testing while underway is necessary, but, we think it’s ok. Three days before departure, our main computer decided to give notice of imminent failure requiring a quick run to the computer store. On the day of departure, it was blowing 40 knots through the marina, accompanied by torrential rain, so, we decided to delay yet another day.

Finally, yesterday, we and the weather were ready. We joined the traffic jam coming out of Cowes. Maybe leaving on a bright, sunny Saturday morning on a Bank Holiday weekend wasn’t such a great idea. We got some sail up amongst the crush of boats and made way for Studland Bay, near Poole, where we’d planned to anchor. Our sailing skills are very rusty after two years ‘on the hard’ and we hadn’t sailed Gjoa before, but, although not sailing very well, at least we were making way in the right direction. The Solent was full of boats, all heading west with the fair tide. One sleek boat after another, with identically-attired crew festooned on the windward rail, streaked by us until we were almost the last boat to arrive at the Needles. Most boats went south, we went west and after a lovely sail, we were snugly anchored with a beautiful view of ‘Old Harry’ and rolling green countryside.

The 'magic' Spade anchor

Before closing, I have to mention our new ‘magic’ anchor. On our previous boat we struggled with getting our old CQRs to set. When tired and just wanting to get the hook down, it was very frustrating dealing with multiple attempts and we found ourselves avoiding anchoring. We bought a new Spade anchor for Gjoa and we just couldn’t believe the difference. Basically, just tossed it over, backed down really hard and we were set first time! The anchorage is known for poor holding, it was rolly overnight, with tide changes, but, we never budged. Now, that’s a result. We are now looking forward to many more nights at anchor.

Our plan now is to move slowly along the south coast, towards Falmouth, where we’ll spend some time provisioning and then make the hop to Ireland.