It's Saturday afternoon, and we're waving goodbye to Cornwall - land of pasties and real 'puts hair on your chest' ale. Keith and Susie, who run the local Sea-Fari company, hold vigil on the dock, holding a Cornish flag and waving us off. Thursday and Friday had given Falmouth blue skies and calm weather, but as the Esperanza sails out of the harbour, there are grey skies and a howling wind.
Most crewmembers are below deck, eating some lunch, hoping that our first day won't be too rough. But so much for all that. As we hit the open sea, we're bang into a force 9 gale, and any personal objects that haven't been stowed become airborne. As the ship rolls, buffeted from an easterly wind, some new accidental culinary inventions occur in the mess, including 'chocolate cake with blue cheese sauce'.
New of the newcomers - landlubbers and sailors alike - haven't had much more than half an hour to get our sea legs. The rough weather continues through the afternoon - and as the rough weather continues for the next few hours, a few of us disappear to our bunks, looking a bit 'green around the gills'.
As darkness falls, we come around Land’s End, up into the Celtic Sea, heading towards Ireland. The wind is behind us now, and life is a little more bearable.
