Thursday, March 11, 2010

Update on the "Bora"!!

We have had news since I wrote the last blog (minor disasters and the Bora) that the winds on Tuesday night broke all records for the area. The Bora was particulary bad in the Trieste area, however in Pula reached speeds of 65 to 70 knots. Around the corner from us, boats were sunk and a wooden boat was flung from the water up onto the road! Thank goodness we didn't venture round the point!
To make you feel better Mum and Mum... this is particularly unusual weather for this time of year. The Bora blew for a total of 6 days, bringing with it sleet and snow on Wednesday which is virually unheard of for this time of year .......
Anyway, I am in Scotland tonight after doing 4 countries in one day to get here due to the inclement weather in Croatia which mucked up my flight schedule. Craig reports that he in snug and warm in the marina in Pula on Shirley Valentine with the new electric heater which he has bought in an almost flat calm sea!!!! Typical!

See ya.... Lesley

4 comments:

  1. Hi Lesley and Craig
    I see that no one has commented on your latest post! Perhaps everyone has read it and just thought OMG! I know I certainly did. You must be finding Scotland quite mundane after these adventures Lesley, or are you grateful for a small reprieve? I'm sure you will find your provisioning much easier to accomplish in Scotland, especially as you can complete all your transactions in English (or at least the Scottish equivalent!):D. Keep the updates coming I look for the next instalment daily, having a laptop will certainly facilitate communications, talk again soon
    Love to you both
    Kath

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  2. Hi The Bora sounds like some experience. If you have a kedge type anchor (which Bavaria are delivered with in Aus) I dont use them if the wind is over 20 to 25 knots. More than this its off to a mooring or marina. Even using a 2nd anchor is tricky getting the spread and cable lengths correct. Have you worked out how to use the depth alarm? I set mine to a minimum and maximum depth when at anchor so the alarm will go off if you drag into shallow or deep water. Good luck, the weather will eventually improve. Rgds Graeme

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  3. Thanks for that Graeme. We have a 'Bruce' type anchor called a Cobra which is supposed to hold pretty well up to about 60 knots of wind. I agree with you about the marina / mooring. Our problem was that the marina wouldn't let us in and that the only other marina was around a headland about 8nm away. I also agree with you about the depth alarm. Another issue with settling in to a new boat (as I am sure you are aware) is getting to know how everything works. We are still getting used to our E80. Unfortunately, all of our instruments turn on together including our chart plotter which can be a bit of a drain on power. At the peak of the winds we felt more comfortable doing an anchor watch as we were chewing up power trying to keep warm, however I am sure that we will get more proficient with everything. We are also sincerely hoping that those winds were the worst that we will encounter (Up to 70 to 75 knots according to newspaper reports!). The weather is improving slowly as you say. We had our warmest day today and haven't had to put the heater on tonight! Thank you for your comment and please keep in touch.
    Regards, Craig and Lesley

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  4. Hi Lesley this is my third attempt at writing. Your blog is very choosy what it lets through from my IP address. Sounds horrific with the weather and everything but I am sure you are sorting things out to reduce the risks in the future. As you say you are on a steep learning curve even with all your sailing experience and that in itself will be exhilarating and challenging. I have had a hard time – Ahmed was in a car crash and the car was burnt out. He wasn’t driving and was lucky to get out alive. His dad is at the end stages and has been in for stenting for hydronephrosis – extensive lymphatic involvement in the pelvis abdo and chest with all the pressure and clearance probs that go with it. We are determined to get him home as he hates hospitals and would have hated to die there although I’m not sure exactly what he is aware of as he is confused and trying to climb out of bed most of the time. I should be in Scotland in July but am waiting for Mansoor to book his leave as I go after him. I was hoping maybe we could meet up for a few days somewhere like Niece (is that how you spell it?) or at least somewhere with a quick flight from Scotland. Otherwise it will be down to you again and you seem to do all the travelling and I would have liked to meet you half way so to speak. If you need anything we can get in Oman let me know. It is a bit cheaper here and we have DHL etc. Hope everything is OK and you get back from Scotland OK with all you need. Ahmed sends his love. Luckily he walked away from that accident and the bloke was driving 170 KMS an hour and hit a school bus so it is nothing short of a miracle.Love and kissesxxxxxx

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