News not Pirates from Penzance

I sit in the Sutton Marina in Plymouth, UK finally having the time to start to write up our trip log. It is June 9 and we have sailed from Port Medoc to Plymouth and brought the cats into the UK legally in just 6 days. A feat I still cannot believe we accomplished.

Shakedown Cruise La ROCHELLE to Ile de RE

When we finally got out after the boat was hauled to clean the bottom and change the zincs. With the morning tide occurring about 10 am, we took off for La Rochelle. Speed was once again up to par and we had a nice sail to this coastal stronghold whose entrance is bordered by towers that were built in the 14th century. We arrived an hour before the scheduled opening of the tidal gate or ecluse which keeps the inner harbor from drying out every 12 hours.

The old town center has 3 marinas two of which have gates to hold in the sea and therefore do not dry out. We puttered about until the 5 pm gate opening and entered the Bassin des Chalutiers which can handle yachts over 12 meters. This marina was not on the town’s main quay so a nicely quiet spot. We stayed for 3 nights and enjoyed the sights and market of La Rochelle. The weather was very warm and sunny and the town is filled with seafood restaurants and cafes. The 3 towers in town are museums and we toured all 3. There is a wonderful aquarium set right beside the marina. During the dinner hour of our second day we went in after most people had gone home to drinks and nibbles and their dinner. We spent 2 ½ hours looking at the fish and other sea life in a nearly empty aquarium. It was very impressive.

The covered market in town was nice and we enjoyed our morning chaussons des pommes and café in the sun outside of the very lively market.

After 3 nights in La Rochelle we left at the morning opening of the ecluse at 8:30 am for the town of Saint-Martin-de-Re on the north coast of the Ile de Re. We had to hurry along because we had to arrive before 11:30 am when that town’s ecluse would close to keep the inner harbor from drying out. We found a very crowded holiday town but luckily there was room for our boat along the wall in the heart of town. Ile de Re is famous for its salt beds. We off loaded the bikes and cycled around the island where we saw men working the salt ponds and cycling through a water fowl refuge. The weather remained hot and sunny. On our last evening on the island a sailing school Jeanneau rafted next to us and the good natured students we up with us at dawn to let us out of our slip to make the opening of the ecluse at 6 am. We sailed directly back to Port Medoc arriving about 9 pm that same day.

The shakedown cruise concluded and we had learned how to lock into these small towns with floating harbors, how to time tides and currents, that waiting buoys lay just outsides these harbors for those who missing the openings and the boat systems were all working. We went home to pick up the kitties for the adventure of their lives.
Images of La Rochelle and Ile de Re are at our Filckr site.

Port Medoc to Lezardrieux, Brittany

We took off from Port Medoc on Thursday, June 1 having waited a bit for good winds. Finally predicted NE winds were forecast and we set off about 9:30 am. Our hopes were to sail from Port t Medoc to Brest in one shot. While the weather predictions said winds would be from the northeast, they never got that way. We had good winds from the north. Basically we sailed close hauled and had to tack so we end up going very far off shore and not making much distance over ground. Finally we gave in and motor sailed for quite some time until the winds finally came round to the NE. By the evening of the 2nd day we were still one more overnight sail from Brest. We were tired and we had to face the Raz de Sein, a “white water rafting” type of experience to coincide with tides and current and thought it best to face the Raz in daylight. So we decided to drop anchor among the Iles de Glenan, a small archipelago with white beaches and crystal clear water. We had sailed about 200 nm. Mid day of our second day out we were entertained by dolphins gliding through the water and surfacing alongside the boat. I had certainly witnessed this behavior before, but never with so many dolphins and many of them were babies. We think we were surrounded by 40 or more.

We were starting the trip over Ascension holiday weekend, 4 days for the French to vacation, so the anchorage at Iles de Glenan was packed. It reminded me of Swan Creek on Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed a lovely sunset and early to bed. We had to be up and out at dawn if we were to make the Raz de Sein with the tides and current with us.

The Raz de Sein is a short cut between the Ile de Sein and the mainland head called the Pointe du Raz. It is known for swells and contrary winds. It was indeed a remarkable trip. We took it at slack water as recommended but even so it was a very rough tumble ride and the kitties were NOT amused. The bow slammed into large swells and we took water into the v-berth through the foredeck hatch. By this time we decided to bypass Brest and continue making passage to our destination: friends in Lezardrieux. We went directly up the Chanel du Four and anchored overnight in a tiny but crowded cove called the Anse de Porsmoguer. This was Saturday evening and we were the only occupied boat as all the other boats were permanently there on moorings. The anchorage was extremely rolly. We arrived close to dark at 9:45 having gone about 70 nm, ate, and then off to bed to be ready for an 8 am start the next day.

We were now very used to going north against the prevailing winds and watching a significant number of boats registered in the UK and Holland heading towards the sun. More than once we wondered if we were crazy to be heading to Scotland.

Our fourth day out found us fighting the currents the entire day. Progress was slow and seas were unpleasant. We were in Roscoff by 6 pm and still the currents were against us. We tried to look for somewhere to spend the night but the marina dries out and the mooring buoys would not support a boat our size. We were uncomfortable anchoring just inside the channel. We carried on to a marina in Trebuergen which had a locking gate. At 6:30 the currents began to give us a boost (finally) so we got to the marina with an hour to spare. However, the marina was hosting a Dutch rally to the Azores and was packed. There was literally 1 slip available which we tied up to, ate dinner, went to bed to be up at the 6 AM gate opening.

Mercifully we were only 40 miles from Lezardrieux at that point and were looking forward to a visit with friends. We had had perfect weather to transit the several hundred miles from Port Medoc to destination number one. We arrived in Lezardrieux at lunch time and took a slip in the marina. We fueled up and set off for lunch at the home of G&J. Later that evening we enjoyed a wonderful seafood meal at their favorite local restaurant as we watched the sunset on the craggy shores.

We never imagined we would leave Port Medoc on a Thursday and arrive in Lezardrieux on Monday, less than 5 days. G&J were planning on helping us get the cats into the UK legally via the ferry from Roscoff to Plymouth. We thought we would have a few days to visit, rest, wash the salt off the boat, take the cats to the vet to be de-fleed and de- wormed and wait for a weather window to cross the Channel. Not to be. Our weather window was open Tuesday, the next day. So on a Monday afternoon when most of France is closed, we were looking for a vet to see the cats and found one who gave them their treatments at 6 PM. During the afternoon we had to make reservations for the ferry to Plymouth, do some minor provisioning, and get JLM and the cats packed and ready to move ashore to G&J’s home for 2 nights while G moved aboard Petillant to help RXC cross the Channel. This whole event was like a precisely planned military operation. Petillant had to leave Lezardrieux on the morning currents at 6 AM, the crossing was likely to take 20 hours. The cats had to wait 24 hours after their vet treatments before they could arrive in the UK. A ferry left Roscoff at 8:30 AM on Wednesday arriving in Plymouth at 1:30PM BST. It departed for Roscoff again at 2:30 PM. That gave RXC time to get the boat to Plymouth, JLM and the cats time to take the ferry, and JLM exchanged for G for the ferry ride back to Roscoff.

While stressful, it all went off without a hitch. However, the indignity of all of this was when the cats arrived legally in the UK, there were no animal health care workers to clear the cats into the country. So in what was an immensely expensive operation Calypso and Dante are here with no proof whatsoever they arrived according the regulations. I will undoubtedly submit a diatribe about Britland in a subsequent posting.

THE UK

RXC and G arrived in Plymouth at 1 AM BST on Wednesday June 8, 2011. We had decided to go into the Sutton Marina as it was close by to the ferry terminal. Tides were such that the marina gate was manned and could be opened at that hour so they settled into the marina and crashed. The marina is in a district reminiscent of the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. Lots of tarted up restos and shops. It had a fab laundry and was well placed for shopping. We were all (4) exhausted and ready to take it easy for a few of days. Oh! but tides and time wait for no man especially if you are trying to round Land’s End.

Plymouth to Penzance

A blow was coming. A storm was predicted to sit over SW England for several days at the weekend. While we would like to have stayed in Plymouth another day we felt that we needed to begin to make our way around the Lizard and Land’s End to take advantage of the southerly winds that would blow us up towards Wales that were predicted to follow the storm. We sailed out of Plymouth and headed for Helmsford Creek, a lovely cove with forested slopes in the heart of Daphne de Maurier country. We only spent one evening but it was tranquil and we did not have to worry about drying out. The next morning we were off to Penzance where we intended to sit out the storm.

The morning was lovely with great winds and lots of sun. We rounded the Lizard about 3 miles off shore to keep the swells in check. We arrived in Penzance at the moment the port gate opened and rafted up to 5 boats. We felt lucky to be inside the port as lots of boats were coming in for refuge against the storm and the harbormaster was running out of room because a Royal Navy mine sweeper, the Penzance, was visiting and open for tours and a large cargo vessel berthed inside the port on weekends.

The storm was nasty and even in a very small walled port the boat rocked and rolled from the wind in our stays. We are in day 2 and I do not think we will be leaving tomorrow.

In town we have enjoyed very good coffees, a lemon drizzle cake, excellent beer battered locally caught fish. We toured the mine sweeper and have had time to finally write this trip log. We have needed to heat the boat in the morning and evening today but are very comfortable.

I am about to post this trip log on Monday morning June 13, 2011. We are in port for one more day as the seas are rough. The gate will open at 3 PM this afternoon and the cargo and war ships will depart. We will leave at 4 AM tomorrow on the first opening of the gate for Tuesday. Good winds and calmer seas are forecast for the trip around Land’s End.

The cats are great. Calypso has acquired sea legs at last and does really well in the boat. I so feared a sick Pumpkin for months on end but the drooling stopped about 4 days out. Yahoo!