Gale

15 January 2014

At 4 o’clock the awaited gale was upon us. The wind increased to gale force. In the shimmering twilight, with 6-meter waves, a blistering snowstorm and the howling of the wind made it an exciting situation. Nonetheless we were well prepared. We barrowed down the hatches and the ‘Oosterschelde’ handled herself well in the gale. This morning rays of sunlight fell true the dark skies that gave the sea a friendly face. The worse winds seem to be over and the barometer is increased with one point each hour and we were able to hoist more sails.