Andy Holland Joins the Crew and the Yachty Types

This weekend Rafiki was moving from Sesimbra to Lagos. The crew consisted of Damo, my Dad, Andrew Holland and I. Andy was new to the crew and had signed up to sail the Atlantic with us. This weekend would be the first time that Damo and I had spent any time with him… we were hoping he wasn’t a tw@t.

My Dad and I flew in to Lisbon from London and Amsterdam to pick up Rafiki (from Sesimbra) and sail her to Lagos (an hour’s drive South of Faro). We had flown in a day early to catch up and have an evening and morning in Lisbon together before meeting the other boys at the boat. After dumping our bags in our room we popped downstairs for a bite to eat and a drink in the hotel bar. Dad and I were delighted to find that a couple of "street artists!?" had set up just outside the hotel bar… These "street artists" were covered head to toe in bronze paint and were stood behind a set of (record) decks which were also sprayed in metallic paint. The performance was simply, ludicrously loud drum and bass music booming out of two of the largest speakers i’d ever seen but the crowd of tourists that gathered seemed to love it…as did my dad?! They “performed” until about midnight, which was lovely after a long day at work and a three hour flight.

Friday morning we were up early and wandering around Lisbon city. We had a naff breakfast and took some pics of the historic city. There are some beautiful spots and sights to see and the main attraction was the Castelo de São Jorge which was atop the hill in the city centre. We made our way up the winding cobbled streets and stopped off at an impressive looking cathedral. We had a brief wander around inside and did our best to avoid the man charging people to light a candle and those selling the various Jesus trinkets. Once at the top we were treated to some lovely views across the terra-cotta roof tops and was able to enjoy the crazy town planning that never existed when these historic cities were built.

After we’d satisfied our (small) appetite for culture and history we made our way to the taxi rank and then on to the marina at Sesimbra. Once in the marina we found our way to Rafiki and set about prepping the boat by filling the water tanks and treating the fuel as it hadn’t been done for some time. We popped in to town to buy provisions (Dad forgot to buy milk…) and brought them back to the boat just before Damo and Andy Holland arrived.

This was Andy’s first time aboard Rafiki after agreeing to sail across the Atlantic with us during a heavy drinking session with Pete Jones. Andy had a quick nose about and decided that “she’ll do” so we headed to the bar!. The marina restaurant was on the top floor of the marina office and had a view across the marina and over to the rugged Portuguese coastline. We sat in the bar and watched the moon rise while listening to Seal’s greatest hits on loop. (the bar seemed to have a limited music collection). After too much food and drink we headed back to Rafiki with a plan to head off after a decent sleep.

Andy Holland

Morning came and Damo chucked the Bacon in to the oven and set about making black tea and coffee (Dad had forgotten to get the milk). Once fed, I took over the helm and guided Rafiki out of the marina and on to the coast. With no wind, we set the course, turned the auto pilot on and sat back to enjoy the cruising and the sunshine. With only 30ish miles to cover we would get to Sines in no time, especially as for the last hour or so we had enough wind to justify throwing up the Genoa (big headsail at the front of the boat), which added to our boat speed. We cruised in to the marina and I reversed Rafiki in to her berth.

Sunset at Sines

Not long after we had arrived, a couple of couples pulled in alongside us and tied up. We had seen these middle aged couples in Sesimbra and had helped them to moor up in the marina. While trying to help though, Damo was criticised for the way he tied the mooring line to the cleat…This pleased him. A lot. These people (busy people) are the ‘Yachty Type’. Damo loves the Yachty Type and engages in conversation with them whenever he can. He compares sails, techniques, running rig, and boat shoes. I do not like these people and avoid conversation with them at all costs. It is starting to dawn on me that I face a year or so of this. I may come back a recluse or even worse, I may cave in and become a yachty type myself. If after I return, you see me wandering around being busy with a cardigan draped over my shoulders (The Riveria Drape) - please shoot me.

Our stay in Sines was short and sweet and ended with dinner onboard Rafiki cooked by our newest crew member; Andy. We had a few drinks and headed to bed as we had a long day and a very early start the next morning. By 0700 Andy was at the helm and taking Rafiki off of her berth in thick fog. As Sines is a very busy commercial port we were all on watch as we nervously crept out to the open waters. We slipped past a 300m long tanker which was waiting just outside the harbour for it’s tug to arrive and turned South for Lagos. The trip down to Lagos was just over 80miles and as we can only average 5knots (about 5mph) without wind we were facing a 16hour day. However, not long after the fog had cleared I (Adam “Ben Ainsley” Couch) decided we should head out from the coast to get into some wind which would mean a longer but (hopefully) faster sail. The boys were all keen to do some sailing rather than motoring, so we discussed and agreed. We didn’t find a lot of wind but enough to put the Genoa and Main Sail up and add a knot or so to our boat speed. The day passed slowly and the weather changed from glorious sunshine to heavy downpours and back to sunshine. The sea was equally inconsistent and was flat at times but more often than not threw us about

and and made us all a little delicate. Food is almost always in the back of your mind when feeling ill on the boat. You’re never sure whether eating will improve the situation or make it worse! As we are all trying to be a little healthy too we wanted to avoid the comfort of chocolate, pizza and pasta, however after two pizzas and a load of chocolate biscuits we felt better, the sea flattened out and we were finally turning the corner at the bottom of Portugal to head to Lagos.

Dad and Damo enjoying the easy ride and chocolates

This change in direction meant we were almost sailing directly down wind which makes for far smoother sailing. The last few hours on the boat were spent in high spirits, enjoying the views of the Portuguese coast, watching the sunset and even catching a Mackerel (thats right…just one).

That rugged Portugese coast

By the time we reached Lagos the sun was long gone and we were pulling in to the channel and marina in darkness. I took the helm, as I’d not docked in darkness before and wanted the experience. With reassurance and guidance from Damo, I guided Rafiki down the channel. It wasn’t a long channel to navigate but there were no channel markers and an abundance of distractions from the busy and well lit town in the background! The nearest miss came with a pontoon pile (big metal post) which was black and unmarked. I’m sure we weren’t as close as I pictured in my mind but it was close enough to raise my heart rate to an unhealthy level! After a smooth berthing on the reception pontoon, we cracked open the beers and celebrated another successful passage.

There are now only two legs left to get Rafiki to Gran Canaria where the ARC then begins… 7weeks left at work, it still hasn’t hit any of us that this is actually happening and I’m not convinced it ever will.

Adam