Rough crossing to Hillswick Bay
| Passage | Collafirth → Hillswick Bay |
| Distance | 34 nm (1 nm under engine) |
| Duration | 6 h (0.3 h of engine) |
| Wind |
B0
B2
B4
B6
B8
B10
Calm
Storm
|
| Comfort |
🤮
🌊
|
We thought it would be an easy one. We had patiently waited in Collafirth for the storm to pass. The forecast still predicted gusts of 25-30kt. This was manageable, especially as most of the passage would be on a beam reach.
We didn't account for the waves. As soon as we passed the headland, we encountered a confused sea with up to 3m waves, regularly breaking on deck. To make things worse, we had to scramble to the bow to rescue the kayak, which had broken free under the battering waves. I tried alone first but was thrown around. I couldn’t get enough strength to pull it back onboard, its bow already buried in the water. We hove to, holding Capsula steady in the wind. Stefano joined me and we secured the animal. We got back to the cockpit, shaken and shivering.
It hit Stefano first. He turned yellow, had to lie down on the cabin floor and that was the end of his breakfast.
I was fine. For the first 2 hours. And then it got me. Maybe the fight with the windvane sail, blown out of its support, didn’t help.
The thing with seasickness is that it only goes one way, until your body decides otherwise or the weather settles. Neither happened before we turned into Hillswick bay.
Some days it is all worth it. This wasn’t one of them.