You followed Inès’ adventures during Stage 1 of our Excess Tour. Today, we find our skipper on board the Excess 14 for Stage 2 of her sailing trip: from Les Sables d'Olonne to Cascais. Immerse yourself in this journey which will take her from France to Italy. We’ll leave you with Inès. See you soon for the rest of the Excess Tour!
Saturday, January 21, 2023. Guillaume and I set sail on a beautiful winter’s day in the late afternoon. We have 650 miles to cover. Weather forecast: a strong northerly wind in the next few days will help us reach the Portuguese capital within 3/4 days.
Covered from head to toe with various different layers, we already know that we’re in for a freezing cold night! We leave the port of Les Sables d'Olonne in bright sunshine, then, greeted by a magnificent sunset, we head out to sea. Calm weather for our first night. A moonless sky, dotted with thousands of stars, lifts the atmosphere on board. A lovely first day out at sea for our Excess and a considerable source of heat for us, because the day before, we were stomping our feet and clapping our mittens to warm up!
After 48 hours of calm, the passage past A Coruña awaits us with heavy weather and big seas. The wind has risen, gusts are now reaching 30 knots and the night promises to be rough. A few problems adjusting the pilot mean we have to take the helm, but our Excess is seaworthy and once again, our spirits are lifted!
We pass the Portugal-Spain border the next day, around noon. The sea becomes calm, and the wind drops. Now it’s time to sail along the coast. The ambient temperature has warmed up nicely and I can feel the tips of my toes again! Accompanied by dolphins, we arrive safely the next day, January 25 at 4pm, exactly 4 days after we left Les Sables d'Olonne: a good winter’s sailing across the bay!
