Back to El Hierro
27º47.105' N
17º54.085' W
We set out for Africa at 9 AM this morning, but after two hours of sailing, unexpected force 7 winds from the west forced us to turn around and come back to the same pier we'd just left (the only one on the island).
Shortly after we finished docking, the wind picked up and started slamming the boat against the concrete wall of the pier, which was designed for ferries and other boats much bigger than ours. Since we were only tied on our port side, (the side that was getting slammed,) we couldn't simply tighten the lines on the opposite side to counter the wind. Two fenders were popped and one stanchion got bent nearly 90 degrees.
While we tried to figure out what to do, all five of us were on deck, pushing against the wall as hard as we could to try to cushion the force of the wind. Eventually, we found a safer place further inside the pier and moved the boat there, after which we all celebrated and then promptly collapsed.
Unfortunately, I don't have any snapshots of this mayhem, but here are some photos from our rental-car tour of El Hierro, which I hadn't prepared in time for yesterday's post:
We'll try to set sail for Africa again tomorrow.
17º54.085' W
We set out for Africa at 9 AM this morning, but after two hours of sailing, unexpected force 7 winds from the west forced us to turn around and come back to the same pier we'd just left (the only one on the island).
Shortly after we finished docking, the wind picked up and started slamming the boat against the concrete wall of the pier, which was designed for ferries and other boats much bigger than ours. Since we were only tied on our port side, (the side that was getting slammed,) we couldn't simply tighten the lines on the opposite side to counter the wind. Two fenders were popped and one stanchion got bent nearly 90 degrees.
While we tried to figure out what to do, all five of us were on deck, pushing against the wall as hard as we could to try to cushion the force of the wind. Eventually, we found a safer place further inside the pier and moved the boat there, after which we all celebrated and then promptly collapsed.
Unfortunately, I don't have any snapshots of this mayhem, but here are some photos from our rental-car tour of El Hierro, which I hadn't prepared in time for yesterday's post:
We'll try to set sail for Africa again tomorrow.
posted by james at 9:00 PM
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