Channel Islands and Cherbourg

Hello from Cherbourg.  The trip up from Lezardrieux was quite uneventful, and not too stressful.  We were considering how to transit the "St. Malo Bight", which is the part of the French coastline from about Paimpol to Cap de La Hague, and two options presented themselves.  We could go all the way around, visiting more quaint French towns and cities, or we could take the short cut across.  Unfortunately, the shortcut has problems with timing the tidal currents.

Islands, Roscoff Unfinished, and Refits in Lezardrieux

The Adventure Begins

Well, it has been a while since I posted something, but we have made significant progress. The boat was hauled, painted, buffed, and all made ready for sea. We Shanghaied two Maine Coon cats from their innocence on Sunday April 29, and installed them (and us) on board, trying to find places to stow all the stuff that we need (or thought we needed) for the trip.

Our dinner at Andre’s 

 On Tuesday, May 1, we left Port Medoc at 0545, at the tail end of the ebb tide, in order to be able to get to La Rochelle by the time that the gate into La Chalutier opened at 1:00 PM. We had a great ride out, hitting over 9 kts SOG, with an Irish freighter crowding us from astern. The new AIS works great, at least as far as seeing other shipping, and we knew who the other ship was, its heading and speed, and where it was going. Hopefully, they saw our AIS signal as well, and were comfortable with our intentions. In any case, no one interfered with anyone else, and we got out of the Gironde with only the minor discomfort associated with the Banc de Mauvaise, at the outer reaches of the Gironde entrance channel. It is ALWAYS lumpy, no matter what the weather, the state of the tide, or the winds. Sigh.

More preparation

Petillant has now been hauled and painted, and all the underwater work has been done to prepare for the 2012 trip north. We installed a new Dynaplate ground plate for the SSB, and a new SW washdown pump.

It appears that the old SW washdown pump suffered freeze damage during the winter, and it leaked quite a bit when it was turned on. The pump was also relocated from the compartment under the fwd berth to the space under the aft head sink. Now that we have a freshwater head, we have an extra thru-hull there, and it is a lot easier to maintain a pump in that compartment to one that is buried fwd. We had to run a bit of hose fwd, but this is a good thing. Now we can also run a line aft, install another washdown deck connection, and even install a cross-connection with the FW system, so that we can do either FW or SW washdowns. The latter phase of this mod will have to wait a bit, but it is now quite ready to do. All the parts are on board, and it is just a matter of running the hose. We also found the final bits of the SW pump for the genset. Last year we sucked up a jelly-fish, and the pump impeller died, but we didn't find all of the bits that came off of the pump, so operation of the genset was dicey. The new pump impeller could not push enough water thru the heat exchanger to cool the exhaust, so we experienced frequent premature shutdowns of the genset. This year we took apart the entire inlet to the heat exchanger, and found 4 pieces of rubber in the tubes. They are now gone, and the genset is able to support full use of the AC system. The watermaker was unpickled, and it produces water that is at least as good as the day it was installed, at the same flow rate. This is one piece of equipment that has worked quite well, and we are very satisfied with it. We also made a few mods to the FW plumbing, and can now pump water from any FW tank to any other tank. This is useful because the watermaker only makes water to the center tank. The plan is to move on board on Sunday April 29, and if the weather cooperates, leave for La Rochelle on May 1. Kitties are getting excited....

Spring planning

Well, spring has sprung again, and we are in full planning/preparation mode for the summer cruise. This year it is back to Scotland, for the Malts Cruise again, and a Jeanneau Scotland Rendevous. We will not be alone for this trip. Several friends have "volunteered" to come along for various segments, to see the sights, to drink whisky(ey), to try out the local cuisine, or to get some open ocean experience. It will be quite a trip. Preparations for this trip will take some time. Because we will be heading up the east coast of the UK, we can cross at Dover, and the kitties can be hand-carried on the ferry while the boat travels without them. This means a crossing of one of the most heavily traveled bodies of water in the world, so an additional safety device will be installed. It is called an Automatic Identification System (AIS), and it basically broadcasts to everyone else who we are, and where we are going while it listens to everyone else broadcasting the same info. This info is passed to the chartplotter, so that we can see who is going where, and they can see us, and we can all call one another on the VHF and talk if we get confused. It also allows our friends to follow us during the trip, much like the SPOT device was used for the transatlantic trip, except that this tracking is done pretty much in real time. There is a Greek web site (www.marinetraffic.com) which provides live feeds of ships at sea around the world. It is supported by a network of shoreside "listeners" who are not ships, but just people with radios. They gather the signals from the ships at sea near their sites, feed it to this web site, and everyone can watch the ships move around the world. Quite amazing. And it is possible to search for one vessel, if you have its name. We will see if it can see us once we have our AIS installed. Also, it appears that the kitties will have an easier time of crossing this year. The UK has finally joined the EU, with respect to pet controls, and the days of waiting 6 months for a rabies vaccination to "take" are gone, if you have the right paperwork. Also, cats no longer have to be treated for parasites, only dogs, for tapeworm. This means no last-minute trip to the vet - YEAHHH! And, it appears that there is a ferry from Boulogne-sur-mer that runs seasonally, and will take foot-passengers with pets. So, we will be able to send kitties on the ferry, not have to wait in Calais for the tidal gate to open, get to Dover at a reasonable time, and maybe make it into the marina there. It is all starting to come together.

Home

Saturday, August 20 We left Loctudy early and had a good wind to start. It soon died and we were once again motoring. We anchored for the night off Belle Isle. What more can I say, the no wind is old.

Sunday, August 21 We left Belle Isle with a good wind to start. It soon died and we motored to Ile D'Yeu where we anchored for the night. I guess this no wind is what sailing in August is like, a bit like the Bay.

Monday, August 22 We left Ile d'Yeu early to a glorious wind and headed for Ile de Re. This time the wind did not die and we were soon thinking we should take advantage of it and head for Port Medoc. We dithered and changed course a couple of times but by noon this wind was still perfect and we finally decided to go home. We got safely back into our slip at 11 PM.

Tuesday & Wednesday August 23 & 24 We have spent 2 days cleaning up the boat, packing the car, enjoying chausson aux pommes and grand creme, and are ready to head back to the house today, Thursday, August 25.

Back to France

Tuesday, August 16. Kinsale to The Isles of Scilly. We woke up in Kinsale on Tuesday morning to the news that a Fastnet boat (100 foot)had overturned just after rounding the rock. Not a good omen for a passage. But we left Kinsale with the tide and headed for the Scillies. We had a good wind to start and it was predicted to be force 5-6 for the trip. The seas were at least 2 meters on the beam, not a happy motion. By 1PM the wind was gone and we were motoring despite the small craft warning

A Captain Ahab Moment (Almost)

All trip I have been hoping to see a whale and disappointed that we were leaving the colder seas without a sighting. Out of Kinsale however, I saw a group of dolphins acting oddly. We were still sailing and it was quiet. I went to look over the side at the dolphins when I spotted a large spray of water about 50 feet off the port bow. HUM. Second spray of water behind the first and getting closer. Third spray of water almost at the bow. Time to take avoidance action. So 3 lovely whales serenely floated across our bows as we serenely sailed behind to avoid them. For the rest of the trip I recalled all the stories I have ever read about boats being holed by sea mammals, all sinking within 11 seconds. However, that was offset by the sighting and the tranquility of the 3 whales enjoying a fine sunny day.

We completed the trip in 22 hours arriving at 6 AM, to take a mooring, and go to sleep. All along the way the smaller Fastnet boats passed us, so we never felt alone. Prince Charles as Duke of Cornwall exercises his right to charge for the use of his land under the water. Mooring cost: 20 pounds. We only paid for a mooring 1 other time otherwise they were always free. He also charges to anchor, just less.
The Scillies were lovely but the anchorage was very rolly. We cleaned up the boat a bit and made realy for the next leg.

Thursday, August 18. Scillies to Loctudy, France.

We left the Scillies at sunrise with a good wind but with a warning of strong winds around the islands. Outside the harbor we danced around the Fastnet boats all coming back from the rock. This time they were not spread out and all really pushing. Again we found the seas to have 2 meter swells on the beams and unplesant. By 1 PM we were motoring again. No wind was getting old.

We motored all the way to Loctudy south of Brest. We were hoping to stop over on the Iles of Glenan but we needed fuel so ended up here in this very quaint Brittany fishing village. We are in a marina which is packed full of boats and vacationers. We are in the height of the French holidays and everyone is enjoying the warm and sunny weather here. Dante and Calypso are quite the show.

Tomorrow we continue our route south to Port Medoc. No more all-nighters, we will mosy down the coast and take about 4 days to get to our marina.

Weather Window

Sunday & Monday, August 14 &15. We arrived in Kinsale yesterday afternoon after a wonderful sail. The town is very picturesque and it was packed with French and American tourists. This is the gourmet capital of Ireland so we had dinner at a restaurant called Max's. It was wonderful food and a nice menu to choose from.

Looks like tomorrow we will have good weather for the next few days to get us back to France, so we are planning on taking advantage of it. We will leave for the Isles of Scilly around 9 AM. It should be a 24 hour sail. Thursday wind is supposed to turn north which will give us a good sail over to France. We would like to make it as far as the Isles de Glennan where we stopped on our way up.

So we will wait until the morning forecast to make a final decision about leaving but right now it is looking that way. We have filled the tank with fuel and the necessary food is aboard.