We rode out the gale on Sunday night – with long patches of there being no wind at all and then a crashing sound as the wind ramped quickly up to thirty knots plus, whirling the sea up around us. Regardless of any nighttime disturbance, we needed another early start the next morning to get back up the channel and out into the Atlantic. So, by 6.30 am most of us were mustered in the saloon having breakfast. I was navigating and orchestrating the crew – we called it skippering, but Alec, our real skipper was at hand the entire time to make sure we didn’t screw up anything too seriously. We weighed anchor just before 8.00am, just in time for slack water and we headed out for the 60 Nm. passage. Once we snaked our way up and we popped out of the channel, we were able to get down to some decent sailing. With a reefed-in Main and the Yankee out fully, we zipped along the north shore of East Falkland heading west, managing close to 10 knots at times, 3 knots ahead of the planned speed.

While this was exhilarating, it also created consequences for us. We had two tidal gates to solve for. One leaving Salvador Water – which led to the early start before we would have to fight the incoming flood tide – and then one at the other end of the passage we had to get through the Tamar Pass – another constriction which meant strong currents during peak tidal times. I had figures if we arrived at the Tamar Pass by about 4.00pm and knew that we should be OK to get through to our anchorage on the other side. Arriving too early would mean battling head-on current from the ebbing tide. I also figured that once we rounded Dolphin Head, the western extreme of East Falkland, we would turn to make for the Tamar pass across the channel that divides East and West Falkland (Falkland Sound) and at that point, we would have the wind right on our nose. Of course, we could beat into the wind (tack from side to side), but Pelagic isn’t a great “tacking boat” – in that tacking her is really hard work and after a while it just gets to be a grind. Because she had 3 forestays, you have to furl away whichever head sail you are using and then unfurl it our on the other side – every time you tack – which over time leads to a lot of work and a knackered crew.

My passage plan clearly said – motor sail the last leg if needed. It was needed, but we had to slow our speed down so we didn’t get to Tamar too early, but I figured getting there between 3.00pm and 3.30pm would still be manageable. And so it was. We headed through the pass and then turned hard to starboard and headed up into the anchorage where we were to spend the night. The previous evening we had been joking about dropping the hook in time for G&T’s in the sun (it had been a stunning, sunny, breezy, long day – but just perfect sailing weather). Once we’d dropped the anchor in the Lee of Pebble Island, in the northern part of Pebble Sound, at the top end of West Falkland and made the boat ready for the night, we found the skip down in the saloon making everyone a well earned, and unexpected G&T.

So we sat out on the back of the boat, enjoying our drinks and watching the sun slowly slip down over the stunning hills that surrounded this lonely spot. West Falkland has more dramatic topography than the East and we were about spend the next week sailing through and around it. Our plan was to get as far west as we could, as quickly as we could and then get the benefit of sailing inside and around this stunning scenery – and here we were, almost as far West as we would go – just a little more West the following day. It may not be for everyone here – it is remote – but it would be hard for anyone not to agree that this was beautiful in its simplicity. Of course, most places that look over open water tend to look better (even Queenborough, just inside the Meadway – look at the photos on previous blogs), but sitting here with a G&T in my hand, the sun shining on the horizon, the water glistening and the hills beckoning – it really doesn’t get much better than this. Maybe a good dinner with good people – and that was the plan again for the night!

Pip pip!