Delivery trip and Orca incident

Time for getting Spirit down to Spain. We had decided to do the trip in one hit to maximize our Schengen time (90/180) and head for Valencia, the nearest port of entry to Sant Carles Marina, our final destination. We would sail across the channel with a quick stop of at Guernsey for custom formalities then non stop to Valencia.

Finding crew was difficult as we were in the grip of Covid. Of the four people confirmed three dropped out just a few days before departure due to fears of not getting back to the UK. Chris, the delivery skipper, and I agreed that we would do the trip ourselves on a six on six off watch rota. Debbie, unfortunately, had prior commitments and was unable to join us which I know she was very disappointed about.

We estimated that the passage would take between ten and twelve days. We filled the diesel tanks to the brim and carried a further 100 litres in jerry cans so as not needing to stop if the wind let us down.

Debbie had prepared frozen meals on the assumption we would have a crew of five, so we knew we weren’t going to be hungry. However, we did have the obligatory dozen or so pot noodles on board if cooking proved difficult. As it happens the combination of the frozen meals and a microwave made preparing dinner a doddle. Added to this were many chocolate bars and snacks.

Chris is a seasoned delivery skipper and a twelve day passage was nothing for him but for me it was the longest period I had ever been at sea and I was very much looking forward to it and crossing the infamous Bay of Biscay. However, the no drinking rule was a tough one to accept.

On a hot June day, we performed the naming ceremony with a few close friends which ended up a bit messy as bottles of Champaign were consumed with gay abandon. A couple of days later we said good buy to friends and family and on the 13th June 2021 we slipped our lines and slowly worked our way out of Swanwick Marina at the top of the Hamble river.

This was my first time at the controls of Spirit and the largest boat I have ever skippered, however, she proved to be very easy to manoeuvre with bow and stern thrusters to edge us out of our slip and into the main thoroughfare which is the Hamble river.

We left the Solent around the Needle rocks and made for the top of the Cherbourg peninsula to catch the Alderley Race, a strong tidal current which whips around the peninsular and down to the channel islands. Chris timing was impeccable and we saw 14 knots SOG with a combination of wind and tied. The weather was fantastic, clear blue skies and quite hot for the time of year.

We were heading for Havelet Bay just south of St Peters Port in Guernsey where we were asked to anchor so the Customs officials could confirm we were in their territorial waters. I am very pleased we did not need to go ashore to complete the paperwork as this would have required us to quarantine for 14 days.

Now I accept that new boats will have commissioning issues the first of which we discovered when dropping the anchor. As we entered Havelet Bay the depth showed about 5 metres. I calculated we would need 25 metres of chain. Chris was at the front of Spirit and I was controlling the anchor from a chain counter at the helm. As part of the upgrades had added 60 metres of stainless-steel chain and 50 metres of rode. At 20 metres on the counter Chris shouted we were putting down rode. Something was up, either I had been short changed on the chain or the calibration had not been done on the chain counter. The latter being the issue. We raised the anchor back up and reanchored dividing the chain counter reading to get the right scope out. A couple of hours later we received an email from Guernsey Port Authorities to say we had cleared customs. So simple and a great service.

We upped anchor and head for the Brest peninsula and the Ushant passage to take us into Biscay.

We were now operating the six on six off watch system with Chris doing midnight shift. Chris was keen on his omelettes and we had plenty of eggs on board. At the end of my shift, Chris awoke to a cheese omelette skilfully created by yours truly. I have to say this shift pattern suited me fine. I have always only needed six hours sleep and found having a quick forty winks in the afternoon along with my night kip worked well for me. Biscay was uneventful with even some engine work to keep the pace going. However, it was very rolly and very cold and wet with regular down pours. Foul weather gear was in order especially for the night shifts.

We kept in contact with home by regular updates using WhatsApp which I had created a user group so friend and family would be updated on our progress. Other friends kept an eye on our AIS transmission which we soon discovered was also faulty with intermittent transmissions. We also discovered an alarming amount of water coming into the boat from both the mast/deck seal and more worryingly the stern gland. Regular bailing was necessary to keep pace with the water ingress.

As we rounded La Caruana the wind got intense with regular gusts of over thirty knots on the rear quarter and three metre waves making spirit roll alarmingly from side to side and she rode the waves. However, our speed was good making nine knots plus for most of the journey down the Portuguese coast.

As we passed Lisbon the weather calmed down and we reverted to engine to keep progress swift. We were now only a few days off entering the Mediterranean. We were joined by dolphins most days which was a delight.

Rounding Cape St Vincent under sail making five knots the sun came out and with calm seas this was starting to become very enjoyable. We were experiencing some mind-blowing sunrises and sunsets.

On the 22nd of June at about 7 pm just of Barbate the unthinkable happened. A pod of killer whales attacked Spirit pushing the boat from side to side and tearing off big chunks of our rudder. We radioed the coast guard and they advised to turn off our engines and all electrical gear. Chris kept a watch outside as these magnificent but scary creature continued to bash and bite the rudders. I was down below monitoring the rudder stocks as if one of these broke off we were going to be in real trouble. After about twenty minutes the whales headed off and left us drifting helplessly.

We started the engine and it became apparent very quickly that something was very wrong. Spirit was not responding well to the helm, and we were making very slow progress. After Chris examined the steering quadrant, he discovered that the orcas had turned one of our rudders 90 degree to the other.

Getting the tools out he managed to realign the rudders and we started to make progress again. At this point we had no idea of the damage to the rudders but we did have steerage. We decided to head for La Linea which Chris knew had a travel crane. At just after midnight, we tied alongside the visitor’s pontoon located just outside the Marina office. After a final check that we were not sinking we enjoyed a well earned beer and got our heads down.

The following morning, we arranged a lift out at the yard to inspect the damage. As the boat was lifted it became apparent that a big chuck of both rudders was missing. After a call with my insurance company, they agreed for us to perform some temporary repairs to the rudders so we could continue our journey to Sant Carles. We engaged a local glass guy who cut off the ragged bit of the rudders which clearly showed teeth marks and made good where he could with new fiber glass.

Four days later we were put back in the water and headed out of the Marina and around the rock of Gibraltar.

The next four days we tacked up the coast of Spanish Mediterranean arriving in the Sant Carles lagoon at midnight on the 27th of June. Dropping the anchor we cracked open a few tins of the golden nectar and retired to bed. We had travelled 1,900 miles with one scheduled stop and one that wasn’t.

Chris Brunt is a superstar.

What a trip.