We returned to Port Saint Louis and Rush in early October after a couple of great months at home, culminating in two milestone family birthdays and, sadly, a funeral for someone who meant a huge amount to us.
Rush was launched two days later and that afternoon Alexis from Belgium he has a CM46 like Rush in build and his friend Roel from the Netherlands joined us. A trip aboard Rush gave Alexis the opportunity to experience a CM46 in action before making their myriad of final spec decisions. After working through some electrical gremlins, with Clarence logged in from Cape Town, followed by a major food shopping expedition in Derek, we departed the following afternoon for a 60 mile passage to Ile de Porquerolles and a rendezvous with Lars and Anna-Lena on Odin.
Arriving at Porquerolles in the night set the trend for the whole passage. Fortunately, I enjoy night-time arrivals provided the conditions are benign, which they were. That said, later in the voyage a fish farm did necessitate a full-on, full-astern stop as we felt our way into a Capraian anchorage! Two more days of howling Mistral winds kept us pinned in Porquerolles harbour, the upside being good times with Lars and Anna before departing for the Italian island of Capraia, just beyond the northern tip of Corsica.
That night saw our first wing-on-wing sail with Solent and staysail in the last blast of the Mistral, then mainsail and G1 the following morning, followed by motoring in flat calm the rest of the way. That also set the pattern. We have a boat that sails in light winds — but you do need a light wind!
Our route comprised heading from Capraia down past Elba to the island of Ponza, on the approx. My word, the Italian Islands and Amalfi coast are spectacular. In many ways, that added to the experience — and dipping into to them for a few hours was perfect. One of the lasting memories and upsides of this trip will be the time spent with them. They ran the boat with us, maintained and fixed stuff — we visited places, laughed and told life stories.
