The race officially began on Sunday 16th November from Portimao marina.  It was supposed to start on the 11th from Sagres but a huge ferocious storm was approaching so the 3 boats in Sagres headed for Portimao marina to wait it out with the other 5 Setkas.  4 of the most hardy contestants elected to start on Sunday 16th but Ian felt it was still a bit marginal and waited till Monday morning while another 3 started on Tuesday.  

Ancymon and Pixel leaving Portimao on Sunday

Nuts a couple of hours after his delayed start.

Gale force conditions were forecast to develop between the coast of Africa and Maderia and by Thursday evening conditions started to deteriorate.  For 24 hours between Friday and Saturday Ian ran under bare poles towing 80m long warps with 3m of chain attached to steady the boat.  It was very rough so Ian slept on the floor wedged between the bunks to stop himself being thrown around the cabin.  All was well, he remained in good spirits and was thankful that he downloaded a lot of movies onto his tablet.  

With no internet access on board Ian's only way of sending updates was by Garmin Inreach which is very restricted so no pictures.

The first boat to cross the finish line in Tenerife this morning was Ancymon, 6 days 18 hours after crossing the start line, followed a few hours later by Falka and Pixel.  Asia G is due in tonight and Ian hopes to arrive Monday night.

 Update before the official start

10th November

Ian returned to Lisbon a week ago to do some last minute chores, one of which was to replace the rigging on Nuts.  He was not happy with the quality of the stainless which he bought here on the island (316 ss is unavailable) and it had started to rust already.  He bought new 316 rigging from a riggers shop but had to fly home before he could complete the job.

When he arrived at Belem marina, 2 other Setkas had joined Nuts and he was delighted to meet up with Bart, a Pole living in the UK, and Erdal from North Macedonia.  They had a great deal to talk about, ideas to exchange, anecdotes to recount, and so on.

Ian, Erdal and Bart

Once again the Yate Clube de Lisboa made them very welcome and held a dinner in their honour so they had the opportunity to meet the club members.  They each gave a short speech relating their sailing adventure thus far.  They even made a promo video which they posted on Facebook.

On Saturday 9th the three boats, Nuts, Pixel and Ancymon, headed out of the marina and down the Tagus River to the open sea.  Some club members accompanied them on their own boats.  They headed well off shore into deep water beyond the Continental shelf in order to avoid the orca whales.  That added a lot of extra miles to their route but better spend a few more hours at sea than encounter an inquisitive killer whale.

They arrived at Sagres after dark on Sunday night.  Facilities are very limited there and they found the mooring uncomfortable and not secure enough in a big blow..... which is on its way.  The weather forecast is for a huge storm to move into Southern Europe in the next day or 2.  Not only will it be packing a punch of Southerly wind and waves, but it is also very extensive and will last for days.  

All the contestants have agreed to postpone the start, scheduled for 11th, until they can get a break in the weather, and right now that is undecided.  Not wanting to see out the storm in Sagres, all 3 boats left this morning and headed for Portimao, some 20 miles to the East, to join the 5 other Setkas taking part in the Challenge.