Biscay Busted!

'White Sands' leaving Plymouth, 15 May 2011 bound for Spain.

Following his sailing experiences in the Bay of Biscay Andy Conroy writes:-

"Well we have done it – completed a 645 mile crossing of the Bay of Biscay in a 45ft sailing yacht from Plymouth to Bayona in North West Spain.

Our original plan was to depart from Falmouth and sail to La Coruna but a favourable weather window saw us bid an early farewell to England having decided that, given the forecast wind direction of Force 3-4 Westerly turning North or North Westerly, it was a good opportunity to get past the notorious Cape Finisterre with a full strength crew.

Along the way we saw glorious sunsets and schools of Dolphins playing in our bow-wave. We saw beautiful sunsets, a myriad stars at night and the lights of passing ships. Looking at all the beauty of God's creation around me I wondered how anybody could believe it all got here by accident! We motored for hours in flat calms and glassy seas, sailed fast in stiff breezes and faced a force 8 gale with 4 metre waves off Finisterre.

We shivered through cold night watches and flying spray and we basked in warm sunshine. Running a 4 hourly watch keeping system (4 hours on deck managing the boat, steering, adjusting sails, navigating and then 4 hours off for eating, domestic chores, resting, listening to the weather forecast, etc.) it was hard to sleep with the ongoing noise and motion of a yacht at sea, especially in rough weather, with crew clambering about on deck, winding winches amidst waves crashing, gear rattling and occasional radio announcements.

Early one morning we collided with a large plank of wood and dodged several others – probably part of a cargo lost overboard from a ship – fortunately it didn't do any serious damage. At one point during the gale on Friday 20th May we were capsized by a giant wave and the boat’s cockpit filled with water. Another big wave could have seen us in serious trouble yet 7 hours later we sailed into Bayona harbour in a gentle breeze and warm evening sunshine – truly the adventure of a lifetime.

To quote one of the crew, “Sailing is a sport that asks a lot of questions”. We answered those questions with courage, team spirit, with determination and with faith, as well as our combined skills as yachtsmen. Personally, in a moment of danger, it also asked me how I felt about the possibility that this could be the last day of my life on earth. I responded that I was not afraid because I was at peace with God. If you are reading this today permit me to ask you the same question - 'what if this is the last day of your life here on earth?' Would your response be the same?

We learned a lot about ourselves and despite the hazards and privations of life at sea in a small yacht we had an absolutely brilliant time.

Personally I have achieved one of my life-long ambitions to undertake a serious long distance ocean sailing passage but the greatest achievement of all for me was to raise over £1400 (including Gift Aid tax rebates) towards the cost of building a home for orphaned and abandoned children in the Philippines. With a donation of just £10 buying over 100 bricks that should make some serious inroads into the building costs!

So I would like to say an enormous ‘Thank you’ to all my many friends, customers, family members and other kind sponsors who have contributed so generously to this splendid result."

The prize for the ‘Guess The Mileage’ competition goes to Mrs B Rowe of Bury St Edmunds, who with an estimate of 650 nautical miles was the closest to the actual distance sailed of 645. She wins £35 in Argos vouchers, which have also been donated to the cause.

Although the mileage competition has now closed you can still make a donation to the House of Joshua project by clicking the Paypal button on this page or by sending a cheque to our office address. Every single penny donated will go to the House of Joshua.

Meanwhile, out in the Philippines building work is pushing ahead and we are just about to release another £10,000 for the next phase of construction. For more information on the project please visit our website www.conroyrendoncharity.co.uk

To see some pictures from Andy's trip please click here.