The CBYA Day Charter on Monday 27th January  was the first one of 2020, and it turned out to be another excellent day of sailing, with good company, good weather and GREAT winds!

The complete crew list was:

• Alan Mason (1^st Mate)

• Stuart Evans

• Peter Steenhuis

• Stuart Eynstone-Hinkins

• Peter Bird

• Jonny Bird

• Graham Hustler (Skipper).

On a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 39i.

We tend to rely on the ‘weather’ forecasts here, as they are generally pretty reliable, but when it comes to the ‘wind’ forecasts, it’s a different matter! The forecast ‘wind’ was a mere 3-4kts from the SSW, but once we were out on the water, that proved not to be the case. We found the wind to be 3-4kts from the North! However, it soon developed to 18kts from the NE!  So we simply enjoyed a great ‘beat’ out in the wind, in nice slightly choppy seas, with the Genoa partially reefed. Some tacking into the wind and alternating crew on the helm, each taking a turn, some experienced, some not.

Apart from the usual fishing marker buoys, Crew were also on ‘Sea Weed and Debris Watch’!! Even a week after Storm Gloria, there was quite a lot of it to avoid, including a floating boat trailer!!!, which was now some 5-6 km out to sea.

We lunched on the move, our flasks of coffee being much appreciated, as the wind had turned quite cold. Turning around at approx 2pm, and expecting to be sailing home on a downwind run, but no, the wind had now changed to the promised SW, at around 17-18kts, so we were still beating!

The humorous part of the day was when Stuart Evans was on the helm, he seemed to be struggling, fighting a heavy helm, and asked for the main sail to be reefed also. Some 15 minutes later, he was still fighting the helm and starting to look rather fatigued, so I took over. Immediately I thought, how nicely balanced we must have the sails, as no helm was required. Then I noticed that Stuart had accidentally hit the Auto-Helm button, and he had been fighting the system for half an hour!!!

As a warning to all CBYA ‘Big Boat’ sailors, we were heading towards land, north of Denia, roughly between El Verger and Oliva, which is known to be a shallow bay. About 3-4km out, the depth changed quite rapidly from around 15mtrs, down to 3.5 mtrs – so, time to tack out!

We returned to our berth at 4.45pm, after a most enjoyable day on the water, in good winds, good company, and great Mediterranean weather.

If you want to experience a ‘Day on the Water’, you can put your name down now. Experience is not necessary, as there will be a ‘skipper’ and mix of experienced and non-experienced crew on board.

NOTE: THE NEXT SCHEDULED ‘CHARTER DAY SAIL’ IS MONDAY 24 ^th FEBRUARY.

Priority will be given to experience and ability, to get the correct balance of crew.

There are limited spaces, so get in early and contact Graham Hustler by clicking HERE.

Graham Hustler

CBYA Day Cruise Co-ordinator