Snork Maiden redux

Across the Channel Thursday 9 / Friday 10 2010-09-15 OK most of you now know that we did get across the Channel. Although the ‘crow flies’ distance is 95 Miles or so, we sailed around 30 Miles further than that due to the strong tides, and a lack of a fresh breeze for a while. Our average moving speed was 4.8 Knots and our crossing time around 25 hours. Winds varied from F2-3 at the beginning of the trip to 5-6 at the end and we came into Falmouth on the # 3 jib (the smallest) and 2 reefs in the main, still making a decent speed. The weather for the last few days can only be described as ‘windy’. When you cross the Channel in these parts, with crossings of around 100 Miles, tide inevitably becomes an issue – especially when they run strongly at ‘Springs’ and most especially in Spring and Autumn when the largest tides of the year occur. We needed to decide what tide we would choose to leave on – East-going or West-going. No difference, you might think. Well, there is, in the sen...

In the Oven Tuesday 7 September 2010 Pix are back to front - sub comes at the beginning, taking down the sail at the end, with some nasty looking clouds in the middle. Off the Northwest corner of France is an island called Ouessant (Ushant). Ships on their way south to Gibralter or further South pass outside the island – the last glimpse of land before the Bay of Biscay. Yachts tend to take the inner passage – the rock strewn shortest route to the Channel. The only problem is that the passage is quite long at 10 miles, and the tide funnels through at speed. So the important thing is to calculate the tides accurately so that the wind and the tide are running together, and running your way. If they don’t, there are spectacularly disturbed waters – huge breaking waves and ‘over falls’ (places where there is a sudden change in water levels so that the boat behaves like a person tripping over a step or falling into a hole. In these conditions, a yacht can be swept sideways towards the ...

Friday 3 Septemeber Joinville to Camaret via Evette Ship on Fire We took off from Ile de Yeu will toothgrindingly light winds in the wrong direction. Could have been worse, but we did have to put the engine on and plough through the waves again. Snork Maiden does her very best in these conditions – no slamming of the waves on the bow, but it is enervating. In the cockpit things are not too bad. With the spray hood up it’s pretty cozy, and the night was not cold. It’s clear, with a perfect sunset and all the stars visible. Al and I take turns to be on watch, and we use the autopilot a lot for steering. Inside the boat things are quite different, and although we are only travelling at around 4-5 Knots (a slow run) it feels like a cross between a galloping horse and a freight train on a poor track. It’s noisy (the engine is a 20 horsepower diesel – a real workhorse taking over 4 tonnes of boat and us through the night. Only possible to sleep when you’re really tired, but that’s qu...

Since Boyardville we dodged into La Rochelle for a night. It’s only a short hop but a good sail with a couple of overboard practices on the way. Although we try to stay attached to the boat there’s always a possibility of falling in! We have lifejackets with built-in loops to attach a ‘tether’ – a tough strap that attaches to strong points on the boat, including plastic-covered wires that run up and down the deck on both sides so that you can go from the cockpit to the bow without detaching yourself. Sometimes this seems like a dreadful encumbrance especially in good weather, but we try to do this all the time at sea. Overboard routines usually used for hat retrieval, boathook overboard etc. We chuck in a fender tied to a bucket – stays afloat but doesn’t drift too far – then bring the boat back to (hopefully) retrieve it. We haven’t lost one yet! La Rochelle quiet now the European dinghy championships are over – car parks full of camper vans and teenagers. Last time we left L...

So we have moved north, but not by very much so far! The south seems to be holding us – that and some quite strong winds. These are fun in the day and a bit less so at night! We are back in Ile de Yeu – a place we enjoyed quite a lot on the way South. This afternoon we hope to hire bikes and go to a quiet beach on the leeward side of the island. Also preparing to make a longer voyage North in time to meet Marylene in Camaret on Friday. Would like to write more – describing a bit more about the life of a cruising couple and the travelogue but the day soon gets eaten up with moving the boat around into a good spot, connecting up the electricity and water, getting fuel, shopping for food and on it goes. All of this in lovely full sun and pretty harbours.