2008 Voyage: Brighton - A Coruña - Azores - Gibraltar - Almeria               Course & Progress     Gallery

Captains (B)Log

Day 1.         Thursday 24th July 2008

James, Nick and Roy departed Brighton marina at 08:15. There were bells, whistles and balloons – courtesy of Yvonne - who braved the traffic to wave us all off and wish us ‘Bon Voyage’. We were all excited and superbly relaxed as we rounded the corner of the marina – only to spot the dreaded dredger by the breakwater wall. We left on a rising tide, but nevertheless the dredger activity had disturbed the seabed and we bumped two or three times before we were clear.

That definitely woke us all up and got us into sailing mode in short time. Sails were raised and we settled into a good run. The journey bode well, since surprise, surprise we had a NE wind force 3-4 and a beautiful sunny day (pix 01-03). The trip passed without event and a thoroughly relaxed crew arrived in Gosport at 17:40. Unfortunately, as we came in, we were buzzed by the Royal Navy security boats and told that we could not enter Gosport marina until clearance was given. It later transpired that they were practicing for the “Meet the Navy” weekend. We trolled up and down the entrance channel for about 15 minutes, when the security rib relented and let us in. Fuel was an issue, since Brighton was not manned on our departure, and the late arrival at Gosport meant the fuel berth was close until 09:00 the following morning – 45 minutes after we were due to leave.

The boat was duly secured and tidied and the magic cruising chute picked up at the marina office. The big problem was that we needed to run the halyard down the mast. Dear oh dear – who could we send up the mast (well! After all, the new bosuns chair needed to be tested). A tough call by the skipper – Nick it was, with James doing the heavy winching and the skipper directing events. While up there, Nick also sorted out the lazy jack which had become snagged under the crosstree. A slight snag occurred –Nick had left the binding tape on the deck, so we had to shuffle the rope up and down to feed him the tape. After this fiasco, we threatened to leave Nick up the mast while we went for a meal. Apart from a lost screwdriver though, everything went off beautifully.

Gunwharf Quay beckoned, and so we all traipsed over on the ferry and had some scoff at the tapas bar. This was an extremely pleasant evening, except for a poor woman doing a sad flamenco session. An early night was called for and so we all headed back to the boat to get our heads down. Yet another surprise and good news though, Brian was due to join us in Gosport early in the morning to accompany us to Brest, and appraised of our fuel plight would bring some fuel with him. This would increase our crew strength to 4.

Day 2.         Friday 25th July 2008

Brian duly arrived in the morning and proceeded to do the fuel run, topping the boat up to its max. with two space cans. The happy crew of 4 left Gosport at 08:15, heading for Brest. The wind was still easterly or north-easterly and sailing was good for a while. About six hours later the wind became variable and died altogether. There was no option but to motor. The shipping lanes were duly crossed and the journey continued with a long haul in a dead flat calm.

Day 3.         Saturday 26th July 2008

The night passage was uneventful (pic 04), with the boat arriving just north of the Alderney races around 4:30 in the morning. The tide was set fair, but the forecast fog arrived as predicted. A cautious approach continued with dawn breaking south of the Alderney races (pic 05) and in view of the extensive motoring, we decided to divert to Jersey for refuelling and the hope of some wind the following day.

Poor visibility continued on the approaches to Jersey (pics 06-08) with the harbour reached about 10:20. Owing to ferry movement, we had to kick our heals for ten minutes before entering harbour (pics 09-10). We finally berthed at 10:40 on day 3. According to the almanac, a Q flag had to be flown since the Channel Islands are not in the EEC. Next stop was the harbour office to report our arrival who advised that a Q flag was no longer required  - (Ho Hum). Now for the serious stuff – a beer and lunch was definitely needed (pic 11).

After lunch, a trip to the chandlery was called for where some more shackles and rope were obtained for the cruising chute, along with various other bits and pieces. In the store was a sun awning that looked rather good, and thanks to James “Little Moo” is now the proud owner of a mini “bimini” (pic 12). Shopping was next, and armed with a scruffy list we invaded the local supermarket. James unfortunately had to “jump ship” owing to work commitment, but yet another surprise, Brian was game to go the whole hog and come over to Spain – Yippee!!  The rest of the day was spent relaxing (pics 13-14), followed by a superb Jersey style meal.

Day 4.         Sunday 27th July 2008

In the morning we said our farewells to James and set about preparing the boat for the next leg – through Le Four and the Raz de Seine and out to the Biscay. We departed around 15:30 – a little later than planned since the fuel berth was like Piccadilly Circus. Once again there was no wind to shout about and eventually the dreaded engine was started in yet another flat calm. Everyone settled down for another nights motoring.

Day 5.         Monday 28th July 2008

It had been a long stag and by 07:00 we were passing the Ile de Batz. The tide was against us, but turned in our favour when we reached Le Four at 12:50. The timing was good for this section and progress was excellent through the Chenal du Four. As we came out of it, the wind gusted strongly with the weather not looking so good. It was now about 16:00 and with some twenty miles yet to go before reaching the Raz de Seine, it would mean passing through a potential dangerous channel at night. The wind and weather continued to deteriorate and so another skipper’s call – Cameret sur Mer it would be. Sheltered by the bay, we moored up at 18:30. The port captain advised that the high winds would be around until Friday. After the formalities, a weather check was made at the port office and via the internet, which confirmed that the weather at the north end of the Bay was indeed heavy seas and force 7/8 gusting 9, with no signs of improving. Clearly this was not a good omen. We would have to wait and see.

Day 6.         Tuesday 29th July 2008

The weather continued to deteriorate over night and at the crack of dawn the port captain insisted that we would have to move the boat onto a larger pontoon. This was not going to be easy since the wind was gusting 6-7 and blowing us off the pontoon. With hindsight, I should have stayed put, but with an irate port official jumping up and down, the boat was moved.

It was an extremely tricky manoeuvre – backing out of a small finger berth into the fairway where the nose of the boat was whipped round. Moving to stern against the up to the required long pontoon, a rope was passed to Brian on the quay and made fast. Using the bow thrusters to bring the nose round and using forward power, the boat slowly came round. Fortunately two French guys saw our plight and ran to our assistance. Two further ropes were thrown to our friends and the boat secured just as the bow thruster blew its fuse.

The rest of the day was spent finding a Volvo Penta agent for a new fuse and exploring the town (pics 15-19). The price of fuel in the marina was iniquitous at 1.60 euros per litre, so Brian came up with a grand plan to get some fuel in one of our 25 litre cans from the local petrol station. We had lunch in a bar overlooking the harbour while waiting for the chandlery to open. The supermarket was duly raided where we also found the petrol station. Behind the supermarket was a rusty old trolley, so we borrowed it to transport the petrol (pic 20). Two trips were duly made to fill up the boat. In the evening we sauntered into town where Nick and I had moulles & chips. Well one just has to have chips. Brian however had a three course nosh – squid, cod, followed by chocolate mouse. Of course we couldn’t miss out on a pud, could we?

Day 7.         Wednesday 30th July 2008

A good nights sleep was had by all – until about 7:00 that is, when Brian decided to clean the boat. Well no one minds really, except it sounded like a herd of hungry elephants roaming about on deck. It was no good – all the tossing and turning and stuffing ones head under the pillow was to no avail – up it had to be. So eventually, most begrudgingly, me and Nick staggered out half asleep to be greeted by a gleeful Brian – I’ve cleaned the boat he cried.

While on deck Brian saw a young French boy fishing. So he joined him on the pontoon and between them they were encouraging the fish to surface. At this point, Brian raided the bread bin and started feeding the fish. Suddenly he had caught a large mullet, which he proudly presented in a box (pic 21). Great stuff we chorused, a good fish meal for this evening. With a suitable blunt instrument and a knife, Brian proceeded to prepare the fish at the stern of the boat. Suddenly there was a great crash. Nick looked at me, I looked at him – and we both said oh, it’s only Brian. A minute later, a wet and bedraggled Brian came back on board. In tackling the mullet, he had grabbed hold of the boarding ladder, which promptly came away and deposited him in the sea. Nevertheless the fish was finally prepared (pic 22), and even in its cleaned state was huge. Needless to say a mighty fine blow-out was had by all.

We await the development of the weather.

Day 8.        Thursday 31st July 2008

Another day in port – this North-west bit of France certainly seems to have its fair share of rubbish weather.

Still, time to relax and prep the boat. The lads carried on fishing, and not to be outdone, Nick caught his first fish (no idea what it was – somebody tell us) [looks like a black sea bream - Ed.] which was gleefully prepared by the pair of them and Brian produced a superb meal in the evening (pic Fish Supper).

Day 9.        Friday 1st Aug 2008

The weather still not brilliant, but the five day forecast promises to be good for take-off tomorrow. The winds are all wrong – Westerly or South-westerly, but the sea state looks reasonable – slight to moderate (mind you – none of knew what “moderate” was in the “Bay”). Winds are F3-4 day 1, rising to F4-5 possibly gusting 6 on day 2 , with it dropping back to F3-4 on day 3 and F2-3 on day 4. In view of the gales over the last two days, this looked like great stuff. An early night was advocated for a reasonable start tomorrow, allowing us to clear the Raz de Seine in daylight – always a good idea.

Day 10.         Saturday 2nd Aug 2008

Everyone was up by 06:00 ready for the off (except Nick who would not believe it was the right time) – eventually moorings were slipped by 07:15. We made excellent progress under sail (6-7 knots), on a very murky morning and cleared the dreaded Raz de Seine by 10:15 (pics Raz 01/02). By 11:25 we were well and truly into the “Bay”. This was it then! Looks of delight and trepidation were expressed by all.

The weather had improved immensely – bright sunshine, azure sky and deep blue sea. Everyone was feeling good. At around 17:00 we spotted our first dolphin – “Solo Fred”, who pranced around for a couple of minutes, then went off. Ah well we thought, at least we have seen one. About ten minutes later, “Fred” had retuned with a bunch of his mates who proceeded to give us a superb display of bow crossing, and general high jinks alongside the boat – fabulous.

After about ten minutes they decided enough was enough and went home. By this time, the current was pushing us into the “Bay”, so a tack was called for.

The wind had dropped off considerably and it was no long however, before it was obvious that we were making no headway against the swell whatsoever, and on our current heading the drift would eventually push us up towards Cherbourg. There was nothing for it but to “go with the wind” and hope we could improve our position in the morning. We tacked accordingly and made steady progress (5-6 knots), with Nick trying out his newly purchased fishing line and Brian feeling comfortable. The evening drew to a close with a spectacular sunset and we all settled down for the night.

Day 11.        Sunday 3rd August 2008

Morning found us well down from our intended course, with little wind and an increasing swell. We had to tack. To get back on course, there was nothing for it, but to fire up the engine. Our prep in Camaret Sur Mer had been thorough, giving us a full fuel tank and 45 litres in 2 spare containers, enough to get us there, should we need it.

The wind and swell were increasing and things generally getting uncomfortable, but stalwart Brian was determined to get his head around navigation. By 19:00, conditions were very uncomfortable, with the “Skipper” endeavouring in the meantime, to get the long wave BBC4 weather forecast on the portable radio (Vid “Weather Report”). This was successfully achieved, but not a lot of comfort. Wave height was as predicted – 3 to 4 metres and winds increasing to F5 or 6.

Day 12.        Monday 4th August 2008

By 02:00 we had only made 3 miles since 01:20. The only course of action was to bear away, quartering the waves and keeping a good lookout for the big rollers. It was a tough night. It was Nick’s stag and he did extremely well. At certain times it took 7 seconds to climb big rollers, before whooshing down the trough, from 2 knots to 12.

At 08:30 the wind had dropped to F3-4, although the wave height was 2-3 metres. Our track was still slightly low of our planned course, but steady with no notable drift. As predicted, the wind dropped off to F2-3 with wave height down to 1-2 metres. The day was reasonably bright and time was taken to dry out damp and smelly kit, a certain person in the forward cabin forgot to firmly close the skylight hatch.

We still had to motor, but a speedy trip ensued (Vid “Fast Sailing”). The day passed uneventfully, until about 17:00 when once again “Fred” turned up again, and true to form came back shortly with all his mates again. Great stuff, after a tough few hours, it made us all feel much better. About an hour later, low and behold we saw our one and only whale. No pictures unfortunately, because it happened all too quickly. We all think it was a pilot whale, but then again what do we know – we will just have to wait and ask Georgina. It was fabulous nevertheless, since the whale “blew” about 10 feet away from the boat. We settled down for the evening and Nick produced his magic paella. After all he was determined that we should sample his fish (Vid “Nick’s Paella”). We settled down to a more pleasant evening sail, although we were still motoring.

 

 

Day 13.        Tuesday 5th August 2008

Around 03:00 found us a bit down on the intended course, so we made suitable adjustments to course and pushed on to close La Coruna. By 07:00 the coast hoved into view and at 09:00 a weary crew prepared for the final approaches.

We moored up at 10:00. Cracked it – Yippee!!  To celebrate we had a couple of beers and paid a visit to the ultra posh Real Club Nautico.

Day 14.        Wednesday 6th August 2008

After an excellent evening meal and a good night’s rest, the morning was spent preparing the boat and finding a chandler for a few odds and ends. The tide was against us, so we had to wait until the evening before setting off.  Also the fuel pontoon was tidal and we definitely needed some juice. Tying up for fuel was quite a manoeuvre; it was at the end of a narrow channel alongside a high harbour wall with brick steps – very tricky. Getting off was just as much fun and all the natives came out in force to watch the sport, but the team was superb and we exited with style and aplomb.

We made good progress through the night, with a careful watch kept for the busy shipping lanes around Cabo Villano.

Day 15.        Thursday 7th August 2008

Early in the afternoon, the wind dropped off and so we had to do a bit of motor sailing to bring us past the dreaded Cape Finisterre and on to Vigo.

The weather cleared beautifully later on and the crew were happily sunning themselves on the approach to Vigo. On our final approaches, Nick spotted two small ships in the distance one of which turned out to be the “Oceanea” and Brian posed accordingly for the benefit of the passengers (pics “Vigo 01-02”). This was the life we thought, sunshine and warmth at last. We continued on our merry way admiring the stunning scenery into Vigo (pics “Vigo 03-07”), finally tying up at 19:00. A very respectable time indeed.

Day 16.        Friday 8th August 2008

We berthed on the fuel pontoon on our arrival and stayed there overnight. Come the morning the official documentation was completed and a great stern on berth provided. Good fun getting it in but completed with no problems.

The Real Club Nautico marina is slap bang in the centre of Vigo, which is a vibrant city with lots going on around the waterfront. We had arrived just prior to the Vigo Regatta week and all sorts of events were being staged – from skate boarding competitions to rock concerts.

Surprisingly, the facilities at the marina were very basic, with no dedicated boaters toilet block, and the ones that were available were not open overnight. Although having WiFi facilities, it was a nightmare getting a connection and when we did, it bombed out regularly. Poor Nick was trying desperately to book his flight home, without too much luck.

Apart from these trifling matters, there were lots to see and do, coupled with a trek to the supermarket and the chandlers once again. The waterfront is cluttered with restaurants and bars – all  very colourful and lively, so we were spoilt for choice with our evening meal.

Day 17.        Saturday 9th August 2008

Yet another gentle relaxing day, except for Nick who was still trying to book his flight. He tried the internet again, but without luck. A stroll to one of the bars at lunchtime saw us tuck into a great menu de dia for about 9 euros apiece. The Skipper and Brian sauntered back to the boat, leaving a frantic Nick to leg it to the travel agents before they closed. Eventually a smiling Nick returned having booked his flight - an eleventh hour job. At the appointed hour, farewells were said to Nick, and Brian kindly helped him with his bags to the taxi rank for his trip to the airport.

No sooner had we settled down when the mobile rang and Georgina had arrived at the airport. An hour later we were helping her aboard to settle in. Brian cooked wicked fishcakes the size of saucepan lids from our mullet store and we topped it off with a bottle or two of white wine – magic!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 18.        Sunday 10th August 2008

The day was spent relaxing with Georgina and showing her the ropes so to speak. Brian went up the mast to fix our lazyjack lines and the starboard halyard – definitely a “Master & Commander” pose. We finally hooked up to the internet at a local café and uploaded (hopefully) the latest blog and pics. A weather report was downloaded and one obtained from the marina office, which looked favourable for a morning start. The winds would be in the wrong direction initially, but a north-easterly was predicted for later in the day. So we prepped the boat and had an early night ready for the off.

Day 19.        Monday 11th August 2008

Porto was the destination, but it would be a 14 hour trip at about 5 knots. If we made better speed, then we could arrive in daylight. Failing that it was agreed that we would continue with a night sail and arrive in Figueira da Foz early afternoon the following day.

Berthing dues were eventually paid – the office did not open until 9am, and we set off at 10:00. The day was overcast with the wind a lot fresher than predicted. Vigo bay was a steady tack on tack and we cleared our first route waypoint at 11:55. Now into the Atlantic proper, the wind had increased to F6, with the wave height increasing and becoming very short and choppy. The course was set for out next waypoint, but by 13:00, progress was minimal. This part of the trip was supposed to be enjoyable, and it definitely was not. With an ever increasing wind (now gusting F7) and an angry sea state, it was another Skipper’s call – back to Vigo. Running before the wind and tide, our trip back was far more rapid, but it still took us until 16:00 before we were tucked up in port. Poor Georgina – she definitely had a baptism of fire (or should I say water).

The weather had definitely changed for the worse. Even in port the wind was still fierce and a steady rain continued to fall for the rest of the day. Obviously a new weather forecast was needed and a revised plan of attack. By the evening though, it looked as though we would be here for at least a couple of days.

More to follow………