Sat 25 May

Going down to the boat, there is a weather window on Sunday but the weather then looks pants till Thursday! So will set off on Thursday, as there is no point is paying to be weathered in for the best part of a week 😉

 

 

2013 Log

Sun 26 May

Crew seems to be ok, tied a bowline enthusiastically but got it wrong – taught by a left handed fisherman from the I of M, it must be the Manx variant 🙂 Had a trial sail up to Lymington and back ok.

Wed 29 May – Poole ~ Guernsey : 93 mls 17hrs45.

Leave Poole 0100 to get the tide down the Alderney race and head straight to St PP. Sailed most of the way, arrived 1850 and anchored in Haverlet bay.

Thu 30 May – St Peterport Into harbour to fill up fuel, then into Marina to provision. Crews birthday, so we went out for a meal.

Fri 31 May – St Peterpor ~ Roscoff : 90 mls 17hrs40.

Left 1400 when we could get over the sill to head for Roscoff. Went North up the Little Russel as we could leave two hours earlier than going South.

Sat 1 Jun – Roscoff

Photo from http://www.plaisancebaiedemorlaix.com

New Marina & Old Port 

 

Arrived Roscoff 0740 Sailed most of the way, only 4.5 hrs on engine. Crew and I were obviously having a communication problem, everything I said was taken as criticism which got to a head when the route I had chosen was questioned as being the non recommended one through the separation zone, which it wasn’t and got out the Pilot guide to prove it, so suggested this would be a good time to bail out and catch the ferry!

Sun 2 Jun – Roscoff ~  L’Arberwrac’h : 35.3 mls 7hrs25.

Ferry left at 0830 with an extra foot passenger, so single handed again! 1315 left Roscoff to get the West going tide for L’Arberwrac’h. Wind from the North so sailed all the way. Arrived L’Arberwrac’h 2040. I had 4 hrs kip then left to get the tide down the Chanel du Four to Cameret, the other option was to pay a nights fees and get the next afternoon tide arriving late evening.

Mon 3 Jun – L’Arberwrac’h ~ Camaret : 36.6 mls 7hrs20

Left L’Arberwrac’h 0215, no wind so motored all the way. Le Four lighthouse looked nice at dawn, arrived Camaret 0935. Paid for two nights then had a sleep. Decided to leave tomorrow from here for Le Coruna, Spain and miss out Audien as there wasn’t anything to be gained by putting in an extra hop, so did some shopping, filled the water then went to the office to get a nights refund – success!

Tue 4 Jun – Camaret ~ Le Coruna : 379 mls 103 hrs

 

Camaret – All the ducks in a line

Met a couple from Saltash SC who knew Ardian, an old work colleague of mine, he and his wife are well and still sailing. Left 1410 all started well with the wind behind me, and passed the Ile du Sein at 2010.

27.8mls in 6hrs averaging about 4.6 knots.

BISCAY

Now set 210 degrees for Spain 340 mls away! Lots of fishing boats around but nothing near me – AIS aerial that I put up the mizzen just before leaving is picking up ships at 50 mls! Trying to work out my sleep routine, at the moment, just taking cat naps on the saloon berth.

Wed 5 Jun – 99.9 mls in the 24hrs from leaving. Ave speed 4.1 knots.

A 100mls a day is spot on what the people who know reckon a cruising boat will average on a passage. Then the wind died off, I tried using the Gennaker from the mizzen but still only averaging 3.5 knots, which will push the trip up to 4 days. Around 1300 I went over the continental shelf into deep water, wind still dying off 2.8 knots, I ended up doing about 2.5 knots, so decided to motor to push up the average and charge the batteries, with no wind, the wind gen doesn’t work! Something didn’t sound right, investigated and found water spraying out of the raw water pump, so engine off and set to check pipes and impeller, they looked ok so think it might be the pump bearing leaking. The problem is water spraying on the drive belts causing them to slip so the engine overheats so can’t charge batteries! Fall back plan is to get the mains generator out. Put the Gennaker away in the evening, a slow sail through the night. Nothing about, had the sea to myself so had a good 4 hrs sleep in the aft cabin.

Thu 6 Jun – 81.4 mls in 24hrs. Ave speed 3.4 knots.Total distance run 181.3 mls

Dug the mains generator out and charged the batteries. The wind what there was of it was from dead astern, so rigged the inner forestay and hoisted my other foresail and poled it out. Couldn’t get the Genoa to set properly because the main was masking it, so dropped the Main whilst still sailing down wind – just shows how little wind there is! That is now much better, I got an extra half knot on the log, from 2.5 to 3 !! After much investigation I found that I also had a hole in the exhaust hose, so set about patching it. I ended up holding it together with plumbers tape, gaffer tape, a strip of garden hose and five jubilee clips! 🙂 so leak was down to a trickle, good enough to motor into port when I got there.

Fri 7 Jun – 75.5 mls in 24hrs. Ave speed 3.1 knots. Total distance run 256.4 mls

Wind started to back to the W so dropped the extra foresail and got the Main back up. Tacked twice through the day as the wind shifted.

Sat 8 Jun – 91.8mls in 24hrs. Ave speed 3.8 knots. Total distance run 348.2 mls

Wind started to back to the SW, rain clouds approaching, I never thought I would be so happy to see rain and the accompanying wind! Would you believe it? On the final approach to La Coruna the wind picked up to about 20 knots and I thought I might have to put a reef in! Got in past the harbour breakwater at 1650, dropped the sails and limped in very slowly on the engine. Tied up on the Marina waiting pontoon at 2150 to be met by a chap, David on White Angel, who I met last year in Camaret where we went out for an evening drink.

Visitors

 

Landfall

 

Arrival

  

 

21:50 Made it – Cameret to Le Coruna:  4 days 7 hrs (103 hrs) and 379 Mls.

Sun 9 Jun – Le Coruna

Slept in then went out with David for a look round town, buy a Spanish 3G card then on for my first Spanish meal and no, it wasn’t an omelette 🙂 Griddled pork cubes with herbs, red peppers and chips – lovely taste and very tender. €6·50

Sights of Le Coruna

Tower of Hercules – a (rebuilt) ancient Roman lighthouse on a peninsula about 2 km  from Coruna

 

 

Mon 10 Jun – Le Coruna

Sourced some exhaust hose €40 a mtr! (just under £17 a mtr in UK). If I replaced it all I would need 3.5 mtrs at €140 which needs some thinking about! David and I took a bus ride to the hypermarket for me to buy a battery as I think one of mine is on its way out after the heavy drain on the crossing, also bought a hi-gain wifi aerial. Wheeled the battery back strapped to my shopping trolley frame, very handy to have onboard.  Bus fair is €1.27 what ever your journey.

Tue 11 Jun – Le Coruna

Decided I could repair the exhaust with half a mtr of hose at €20, so ordered it. Went out for a beer and David introduced me to tapas, met up with three other Brits – well, an Englishman an Irishman and a guy from Jersey – Arthur, all single handing. The Irish chap – Jim, crossed from Dublin to La Coruna in 6 days, he obviously found more wind than I did.

Wed 12 Jun – Le Coruna

Fixed exhaust hose, cut the offending bit off and joined on the new bit, luckily I have a couple of lengths of stainless 50mm tube to join the hoses together.

Thu 13 Jun – Le Coruna

David on White Angel left for Ria Camarinus. He has been most helpful, pointed me to apps to listen to BBC radio (blocked if you try via BBC Iplayer outside of the UK), a site to watch UK TV programs and another useful weather app which I didn’t know of.

Fri 14 Jun – Le Coruna ~ for Camarinus ~ Le Coruna : 49.4 mls 10hrs42

0740 left Real Club Nautico for Ria Camarinus. The wind was not as forecast from the North but from the West, the direction I was heading in and as the day progressed the wind increased to 27 knots, touching on F7, so with two reefs in the Main and Genoa after tacking to make 18mls progress in 6hrs40 I turned tail back to Le Coruna. The return trip with the wind behind me took 4 hrs!

Sat 15 Jun – Le Coruna ~ Camarinus : 51.3mls 10hrs50

After yesterday’s false start tried again. Left for Ria Camarinus at 0850 and would you believe no wind at all today, motored all the way. Dropped anchor close to Camarinus town at 1910.

Sun 16 Jun – Camarinus

Rain and gusting 30 knots (F7) from the South. Good job that I am tucked in behind the harbour breakwater. Nothing to do but stay hunkered down for the day. Emailed White Angel who is now in Vigo with nice weather! In the evening the wind shifted through 180 degrees and eased right off over night.

Mon 17 Jun – Camarinus

Wind shifted back from the South again but not quite so strong as yesterday. Still raining, so I’m not going anywhere!

Tue 18 Jun – Camarinus

Not raining today and the wind had dropped so extracted the inflatable and ventured ashore just in time to watch the shops shut for their afternoon siesta (2pm-5pm) but had a look around, more a big village than a town. Had a beer and tapas.

Grain stores 

Old & New, corrugated side!

Wed 19 Jun – Camarinus

Was going to move on today but rain mist and wind, at least the wind is from the North!

Thu 20 Jun – Camarinus

I was going to leave today (again), upped anchor and started off but then found my alternator belt was slipping and it was raining that horrible misty drizzle, so I turned around and went into marina for the night to get mains to charge batteries and put the heaters on to dry out. Tied up next to a boat from Poole – Firebird of Arne, they have also been stuck here the same length of time as me. Tightened up belts, had a shower – not very hot 🙁 filled water tank, then cooked dinner.

Fri 21 Jun – Camarinus ~ Muros : 42 mls in 8hrs45.

08:30 left Camarinus, 13:00 2 mls off Capo Finisterre, like Portland Bill, a pussycat when the weather is fair.

Capo Finisterre Anchored quite close to Muros, in easy rowing distance.

 

Sat 22 Jun – Muros

Had a wind shift last night which put me into shore and too shallow water for my liking so upped anchor and moved a bit further out and closer to the harbour, too windy to go ashore.

Sun 23 Jun – Muros

The wind picked up through the day from the North and blew a hoolie through the night, which got me up a couple of times to check anchor and dingy but eased off in the morning, so a trip ashore to look around. Pulled the dingy in and found a stranded fish laying in the bottom! Looks like a Bass, so brought it on board, gutted it and put in the fridge for dinner. Muros is a small town, with several tourist shops and lots of bars along the front, had a tapas and beer in one of them and used their wifi, I couldn’t get a signal on my 3G dongle.

Back to boat for a fish supper

Mon 24 Jun – Muros

Into town again to do some shopping ready to leave tomorrow. It looks like Monday is like Sunday, lots of shops shut, including the supermarket!

Views of Muros

Tue 25 Jun – Muros ~ Vigo : 45.5 mls 10hrs35.

08:40 left Muros, still 15 to 20 knots of wind from the North so just used the genoa, but still doing 6.5 knots. The wind eased through the day and I hoisted my mizzen gennaker but the wind continued to ease through the day and I ended up motoring.

Entertained by the Dolphins

Arrived at Real Club Nautico de Vigo at 19:15. Had a quick walk ashore to stretch my legs then had a lovely hot shower, such bliss!

Wed 26 Jun – Vigo

What a lovely hot day. Up to office to register boat €13.79 a night if I stay for 7 nights, can’t be bad, Vigo is a big city so see no problem with that, also get access to Club swimming pool and gym! Then off to find the ‘Efectos Navales’ – engine fixers – to see if they can repair my water pump, they will give me the verdict tomorrow! Next on the list, Orange shop to sort out my 3G – looks like I have run out of credit, I have never used a gig in ten days of minimal use, I think it time expired, it didn’t last a month as I was led to believe, so another €15 1 Gig topup. Next find a supermarket and do the shopping I failed to do on Monday. Not done so much walking for a long time, and in this heat! Totally knackered so stopped on the way back to the boat for a beer, in fact I had two large ones at €4 a time! I drink shandy, so to find out what to ask for is high on the list for any country I visit, in France it is ‘Panashay’, here it is ‘Clara du Lemon’ (both spelt phonetically).

Thu 27 Jun – Vigo

One of several interesting statues

A lazy start, as the engine fixer told me to return at 12:00 for the verdict, meanwhile I looked up the cost of water pumps on the net £215.29 +vat, £258 not a cheap replacement, but some other models cost £800, you would think that they were gold plated, not cast bronze! Now up to the ‘Efectos Navales’ to get the verdict, surprise! My pump was laying on his bench all fixed and ready to go! How much? Well it looks like it is a cash job, €115 about £99, so up to the cash point and extract some euro’s. Not cheap but it has got me out of a hole. Now back to the boat to fit it and see if it works. . . . Success! No leaky water 🙂 Now a well deserved shower, I’m glad I bought a long handled scrubbing brush for the trip, as I had a lot of scrubbing to do to get rid of the engine oil and dirt.

Fri 28 Jun to Sun 30 Jun – Vigo

I can now relax a bit, wander around the City and do a bit of sightseeing. A lot of cruise ships call in here, come in in the evening, disgorge the passengers in the morning for a day of sightseeing, then back onboard for 4pm and off at 5pm.

Mon 1 Jul – Vigo

My seventh night tonight, up to the office to settle up, supermarket to stock up on food then fill up the boat water tanks ready for the off, but where? Time to get the books out to see where I fancy.

Tue 2 Jul – Vigo ~ Isla de San Simon ~ Moana : 12.3 mls 3hr30

Decided on Moana on the North side of the Ria, but first an excursion up under the bridge at Punta de Rande to Ensenade de San Simon for a look see. Negotiated lots of mussel floats and up into shallow water off Isla de San Simon.

Then turned and headed back down the Ria to Moana, a holiday destination with a big fishing harbour and small marina mainly for local boats. Anchored off the beach within rowing distance of the harbour.

Rowed ashore in the evening, when the shops open, for a look around, lots of bars and the normal seaside shops, also a good hardware store where I bought a container of kerosene for my anchor light. Kerosene works ok but it is messy, it is smoky so soots up the lamp and glass.

Wed 3 Jul – Moana

Row ashore again for another look around, to see if there is anything that I missed yesterday – no! so a beer and catch up on ‘wiffey’.

Thu 4 Jul to Sat 6 Jul  – Moana ~ Cangas : 6mls 1hr10

Up hook about 10:30 and trundle West round the corner to Cangas, which is a bigger holiday destination, but with similar fishing harbour and small marina for local boats, also this is the destination for the ferries that ply to and from Vigo. Anchored off the beach, away from the path of the ferries and a big chunk of rock that rears up out of the water but conveniently marked with a statue on top, which is a bit more than easy rowing distance from the harbour, so lowered the outboard onto the dingy for my trips ashore. It is often a problem as to where to tie up the dingy in the marinas, as the pontoons have gated access. The trick is to find the pontoon where the gate security has been ‘overridden’, which is either a broken lock or a bit of rope tied round the gate so it doesn’t close properly. Here in Cangas there is a pontoon used by the rowing club, so I tied up out of the way at the near end. Went for the normal wander around town, two supermarkets! Walked round the front to the beach where the boat was moored and had a beer in a bar which had a strong ‘wiffey’ signal that I could pick up from the boat, connected and skyped the girls for a catch up. I am settling into a routine now, up about 9, laze around till 4 then go ashore to stretch my legs, shop and have a beer, then back to boat and enjoy the cool of the evening after sponging myself down.

Sat 6 Jul – Cangas

Low Water

Good job that the rock is marked! Decided I would move on in the morning, I was going to go round to the next Ria, but when running the engine to charge the batteries I noticed that the 24v alternator belt was slipping, so change of plan and it will be back just across the Ria to Vigo, to see if I can get some more belts.

Sun 7 Jul – Cangas ~ Bouzas : 2.9mls 1hr15

Up hook about 12:30, no rush, for Vigo. Just about to leave when I saw a guy in a dingy waving and rowing in my direction, so motored over to meet him, it was the chap who I had met in Camarinus, from Poole – Firebird of Arne. He said he was going to come over last night, but his anchor dragged! Pity, a social evening would have been good. Motored over to a different marina to my previous visit, this time to Liceo Maritimo de Bouzas, which from my reckoning is a lot closer to the ‘Efectos Navales’ and Chandlers, I will see tomorrow! Tied up to pontoon at 14:15 I can’t find anyone in charge at this marina, it is quite small, and what is worse, the lock on the gate works so I’m locked in. Luckily the town is just across the entrance, so plan B, I can launch the dingy and row across to some steps I can see.

Mon 8 Jul – San Miguel de Bouzas

What a boo-boo! I am not in Liceo Maritimo de Bouzas but on small private pontoons – San Miguel de Bouzas, hence no one looking for money and locked gates, still nobody is telling me to shift so I will push my luck and stay.

Rowed ashore to a slipway rather than across to the steps I saw, too many kids playing around the steps. If I thought it would be less distance to the ‘Efectos Navales’, then I was wrong, definitely further, but found the place I was pointed to, a firm called Emenasa. The guy there was very helpful, the belt I wanted wasn’t in stock so he ordered it for next day. When he found out where I was tied up, he said that when it arrived he would drive round with it to save me the long walk. When I came on this trip, of all the problems that I envisaged, with no bike and lots of walking, I didn’t think that blisters on the soles of my feet would be an issue! Shoes suitable for the heat are not suitable for long hikes, I have already worn out one pair of socks, big holes in the bottoms probably the cause of the blisters. On the way back to the boat, stopped off for a couple of large cold beers – joy! I was going to say Bliss but that is too close to reminding me of my feet 🙂 In the evening when it has cooled down, set too to taking the old belts off the engine, a job not to be done in the heat of day, then had a good scrub and hose down on the pontoon. The water in the pipes is quite warm from the heat of the day, it reminds me of the French canal trip when I left my hose out on the pontoon, then used it to shower off and burnt myself as the water was so hot.

Tue 9 Jul – San Miguel de Bouzas

Nothing much to do this morning, just waiting for a phone call to say the belts were on their way. Rowed ashore about twelve, had a wander, a couple of beers in a bar and used their wifi. It was a long day, I had to move the dingy up the slipway twice due to the rising tide, over 3 meters rise, quite big spring tides. Kicked my heels till half Six when I got the call to meet to get the belts, the chap was as good as his word. Rowed back to the boat to put everything back together, well at least it is close to evening so job done in the cool. Scrubbed down again, then set about dinner, I have some pork in the fridge that is four days old, so it needs eating! Very nice, it had been marinated in something or other but definitely contained garlic, vacuum packed so had a long shelf life. Midnight when I had finished, so washing up left till morning.

Wed 10 Jul – San Miguel de Bouzas ~ Bayona : 10mls 2hrs45

Woke up to mist, not quite fog, so a delayed departure from this private pontoon.

During my time online yesterday I caught up with ‘White Angel’ David mailed me to say that he was back in Vigo. He had had a problem with his Genoa so needed a sail maker to do a repair. We have decided to meet up in Bayona (still in Ria Vigo) then ‘sail in company’ on to Combarro in Ria de Pontevedra, which ties in nicely with my plans. ‘Sail in company’ will be a loose term, as it will be more likely hare and tortoise, with me plodding on in his wake. Set off for Bayona at 13:30 and dropped anchor at 16:15, the trip was a bit misty but viz was about a mile, a bit of wind but on the nose, so motored all the way. I was invited over to White Angel for a nightcap so rowed over, David was going to go into the marina in the morning and kindly offered to give me a lift in towing my dingy.

Thu 11 Jul – Bayona

White Angel and I both spent the night anchored off Bayona, I rowed over to White Angel at the appointed hour and off we went into the marina.

 White Angel

David went and completed the formalities then we went for a look around Bayona and a beer. Then went to do some shopping, bought a straw hat! then back out to the boat to make dinner.

Fri 12 Jul – Bayona ~ Cambarro : 24.2mls 5hrs45

Start of the return journey

Dingy back into marina again to discuss when we would move on to Cambarro, we decided on this afternoon. Back out to boat to prep for sea, up anchor and leave. Nice square rigger out in the bay as I motored away from the anchorage, sails up but not enough wind to sail.

JUAN SEBASTIAN DE ELCANO – 1927 Topsail Schooner

Turned into the Ria de Pontevedra at 16:45 and anchored at 18:00, motored all the way.

Sat 13 Jul – Cambarro

White Angel went into the marina and I rowed in to meet up and look round the town. A couple of quaint old alleyways but spoilt by it all being turned over to selling tourist tat.

  

 

  

Found a small ‘local’ bar for a beer, then onto a quayside restaurant to eat. Had Octopus (Pulpo), small green padron peppers (Pimientos de Padron) and potato omelette (Tortilla), very nice, €23 for the two of us inc beer.

Fare on offer

Saw Firebird of Arne (the boat from Poole) in the marina, so we had the chat that we missed out on at our last meeting. In the evening I saw a large dolphin jump just behind the boat.

Sun 14 Jul – Cambarro

White Angel and Firebird of Arne moved on this morning, but I wanted another day to look around Cambarro, skype home and have a shower, a nice relaxing day.

Mon 15 Jul – Cambarro ~ Ria de Arousa : 27.1mls 6hrs40

Moved on to the next Ria up Ria de Arousa, managed to sail a bit, but motored most of the way. Lots of ‘Bateas’ – rafts (wooden grids) for growing mussels under in this Ria. Anchored to the north of Isla Toxa Grande where I could hear a festival going on in O Grove to the west, but it didn’t keep me awake.

Tue 16 Jul – Isla Toxa Grande ~ Cambados : 1.3mls 45mins

Motored into Cambados and tied up to a pontoon for local boats, as there was no facilities for visitors. Luckily the pontoon gate lock had been ‘disabled’ so I could do the twenty minute walk along a sea wall and round the sea front into town.

  

  

More versatile than a pushchair 🙂

Found a big fresh fish market, fishing is big business round here.

Wed 17 Jul – Cambados ~ Finisterre : 48.4mls 12hrs40

Earlyish start, had to use the radar on the way out due to fog, but it cleared once I got clear of the land. Decided to bypass Ria Muros and push on to Finisterre. The wind picked up from the north to F5, and not making much headway on the engine so did some sailing, tacked out and back into the lee of Cabo Finisterre then motored in past Finisterre village and anchored off the beach.

Thu 18 Jul – Finisterre ~ Camarinas : 46.7mls 10hrs35

Another early start 07:40, no wind but put the mizzen and main up, with two reefs in, got to respect the reputation of the cape! motored round Finisterre close in, then went out a bit to avoid some rocks.

Finisterre millpond!

The wind picked up with a vengeance about 09:30 so started sailing, genoa half out, just as well, as by 11:00 I was getting 32 knots of wind (F7) and gusting 35 knots which is Gale F8! The boat took it well and the dolphins enjoyed diving under the bow. I was doing best part of 6 knots, so I sat below and read my book as I didn’t want to be out with the occasional wave breaking up the side of the boat. Got to ten miles out then tacked in, but still short of the Rea so had to tack out and back again, by this time the wind had dropped to 22 knots (F5) and I had slowed to 3½ knots, probably me trying to point too close to the wind, but I made it into the Rea de Camarinas. Once I got into the shelter of the headland you would think it was a different day, all tranquillity and peace.

Dropped the sails and motored to the back of the Rea and anchored in what the chart said was sand, but when I up anchored I found it was the same gooey black mud that I had found last time I was here. I looked round at the other boats that were anchored and saw a boat over to my right that looked like White Angel, got the bins out and sure enough it was, what a small world!

Fri 19 Jul – Camarinas

Up anchor, I said about the gooey black mud! and motored into the marina for some pampering – electricity, shower rather than my normal sponge down and spend €5 on the use of the washing machine and dryer, also I will put some fuel in, down to about a quarter of a tank, but can’t be bad as the last fill was in St Peter Port and 89 engine hours ago. It’s party time here in Camarinas, fair style stalls through the main street and in the evening two big stages were in use with live groups performing, someone on the pontoon said that it went on till 4 or 5 the previous night.

David and I went out for a wander round, a beer and in the evening a meal in the ‘yacht club’ – a loose term for the bar / restaurant, after that, out to enjoy ‘the crack’.

Sat 20 Jul – Camarinas

Sure enough the partying went on till 4 or 5, I stayed up in the town till about midnight, then came back for a cup of hot chocolate and read my book for a couple of hours. Got up about 9, I was going to leave today but decided to do a bit of shopping and have a lazy day instead.

Sun 21 Jul – Camarinas ~ Laxe : 18mls 4hrs

Filled the water and fuel – 165 ltrs at €1.45, about £206 still, I have run 89 hours on that, my last fill was in Guernsey. Left at midday for Laxe in the next Rea up, Ria de Corme y Laxe. First good sail so far as the wind had turned round and was blowing from WSW F4 to 5 so hoisted my mizzen gennaker. As the wind was now from the south I anchored off Laxe, on the south side of the Ria, a small seaside town with a nice, fairly steep angled beach. Just after I arrived, other boats started to turn up, Swedish, French and Dutch, and another Brit boat, a peaceful night.

Mon 22 Jul – Laxe ~ Ensenada de Mera : 36mls 8hr15.

No wind today so had to motor round to Ria Le Coruna, the sea was flat calm and I was treated to a display by six or seven dolphins playing round the bow, I had had my fishing line out, so reeled in when the dolphin arrived. I decided to anchor in a little cove over on the north side of the Ria, Ensenada de Mera, four other boats were also there, mainly Brit.

Tue 23 Jul – Ensenada de Mera ~ Le Coruna : 3mls 50mins

Motored over to the marina in Coruna and was met by the same guy (the Marinero – marina pontoon master) that sorted me out on my last visit, he recognised me and waved me round to the same berth I was on before, then walked round and helped me tie up. They are having a Medieval week in town, displays of jousting and falconry in an arena set up in the main square and lots of stalls set up in the side streets.

 

Did some shopping and bought the makings for a bolognese – mince, leek, carrots, onion, mushrooms, I already had garlic and a bolognese sauce. Fried up the onion, mushroom, garlic and mince on my electric ring out in the cockpit, so the cabin doesn’t overheat, then put it all in my pressure cooker with the veg and sauce for 20mins. This mains cooking ring saves me a lot on gas! It looks like I will be eating SpagBol for about five days solid, as when I tipped it all out, it filled two 1 ltr storage tubs!

Wed 24 Jul – Le Coruna

Into town to do some more sightseeing and to the Orange shop to top up my 3G card, I have only used about half a Gig of the one Gig that I bought but it expires after 30 days unless it is recharge. €15 a Gig, on reflection I don’t think the Orange deal is very good, I should have gone with Vodafone. Met up with David – White Angel who is here waiting on some (3) new batteries to arrive from UK (cheaper than buying local) and went for a beer. At about 16:30 I upped sticks and went back over to anchor in the cove for the night. At €28 a night in the marina, night’s there can get very expensive!

Thu 25 Jul – Le Coruna ~ Ensenada de Mera : 3mls 50mins

Was going to move up round the coast this morning but woke up to rain and fog, so decided to stay put for a bit! The sun came out in the PM and three other boats joined me, one of them is ‘Flinesse’, a 40 odd foot Malo that I saw in Camarinas, then again yesterday in Coruna, I can’t see flags on the others, so maybe local. Did ham, eggs, mushrooms, leek and chips for dinner, followed by Taramaso spiked with some whisky 🙂 , it’s doing nothing towards my weight loss!

Fri 26 Jul – Ensenada de Mera ~ Cedeira : 28mls 6hr35

Nice day today so left Ensenada de Mera for Cedeira, no wind so motored. Dolphins on the bow again, it is getting quite a common sight.

Sat 27 Jul – Cedeira ~ Viveiro : 33mls 8hrs

I didn’t wake up till 10! left at 11 for Viveiro, a good wind from the SW so sailed most of the way with twin head sails, a lovely days sailing. I decided to tie up in the marina as it is forecast to blow quite strong overnight and tomorrow. The run into Vivairo is up a man made deep water channel, unusually for me, I radioed the marina to ask if there was space. The marinero spoke excellent English and after asking my length, was waiting on the end of the pontoon to guild me to a space, then assisted in tying up. We then went to the office and completed the formalities, €23 / night and no deposit for the pontoon gate key.

Sun 28 Jul – Viveiro

The marina wifi has packed up, it was working well last night, so off into town to find a bar with wifi and explored Vivairo, but not too much going on being Sunday. The bar I happened on at the top of the town square was amazing, they normally give you one or two little tapas titbits to have with your beer, but at this place they kept coming and coming! I didn’t need to cook, I was full and I watched the Grand Prix on TV 🙂

Mon 29 Jul – Viveiro ~ Roo Beach, Covas Bay : 1ml 30mins

Into town to do some shopping, I found an amazing fish market, clean (not smelly) with a huge range of fish for sale.

I left the marina late, after having a shower, as I was only going out to anchor in bay, I found a good place, sheltered under some East facing cliffs in about 5 mtrs of water.

Tue 30 Jul – Covas Bay ~ Ribadeo : 32mls 7hrs30

0745 left Vivairo, bathed in early morning sun, for Ribadeo.

Arrived mid afternoon so I could go and look round town whilst the shops were open for the evening after doing the admin bit – €25.32 / night. The town is attractive, but at the top of quite a steep hill.

 

     

Wed 31 Jul – Ribadeo

Spent the day at Ribadeo marina ‘doing jobs’ then left in the afternoon after my customary leaving shower, to go out on the hook, just as White Angel turned up. Anchored up the ria just past the commercial wharf with about a meter of water under the keel, as I hope to dry out and scrub the hull tomorrow.

   

Can’t resist temptation!

Launched my dingy and rowed ashore to meet up with David, to go for a beer and meal. He introduced me to the lift that takes you up to town, pity I hadn’t found it yesterday!

Thu 1 Aug – Ribadeo

Drying out day! The tide turned to ebb spot on 1240 as per tables from Marina Office. Just as I was about to up sticks, a Brit Cat turned up with the same idea of drying out as me, I got shooed away from beach I was going to dry out on by a life guard, no one on the beach let alone in the water! Went a bit further up the Ria, just the other side of an inlet and grounded with my nose about 5 mtrs from the shore, so slope must be quite steep. It looks like the cat has changed his mind, as he is still sat at anchor. Put the Kedge anchor out. to assist pulling the boat off after the event, so now I wait . . . but not for long, by the time I had got my wetsuit on it was time to start work – six and a half hours of scraping and scrubbing.

Back on board 1930 totally knackered but I will have my extra knot of speed, it doesn’t sound much but it’s 20 to 25%, which is the best part of a day on a four day trip. All went well, till I was carrying the dingy to the water to get back onboard. I got it to the water then lost my footing so ended up flat on my back in said water! but I kept my dignity if not my decorum. 🙂 Back onboard I stripped off and had a sponge down, then waited to float. I floated at midnight then motored back to where I had previously anchored.

Fri 2 Aug – Ribadeo ~ Aviles : 55nm 11hrs05

Tidy up and hoisted the dingy abroad ready to leave for Aviles, finally lifted the anchor at 1115, leaving a bit late really, it’s a 50 odd mile trip. The wind did funny things on route, at different stages it blew from all points of the compass, at one stage it was blowing quite strong from behind and I touched 7.8 knots! Just shows what a clean hull can do.

 

Arrived at Aviles in the dark at 2220, so I couldn’t see the ugly industrial wharfs that line the 2 mile run up to the town, but I was met by the sight of a Portuguese Navy square rigger all lit up on a courtesy visit

Sat 3 Aug – Aviles

I had just got up when the port police came knocking! Unusually they do the marina administration here. The nightly rate appears to be very reasonable at €10 to 12 / night, electricity and water provided but no wifi, showers or toilet, you have to bring your own 🙂

 

 

Went round to have a closer look at the Portuguese Navy square rigger, SAGRES (III), it’s manned by Navy cadets. A three masted barque, built in Hamburg in 1937 and originally named Albert Leo Schlageter

  

Into town for a look see, most impressive, old 17c style buildings, lovely parks, the town has a lovely feel to it.

  

   

  

Sun 4 Aug – Aviles

Did some planning for my next stop at Ribadesella, I have decided to miss out Gijon as I have heard from White Angel, who is there, that it is very expensive. Then into town to do more of the tourist bit and find wifi so I can do my weekly skype to family and friends, also look at the weather for tomorrow.

Mon 5 Aug – Aviles

Made a big decision! I am not going on to Ribadesella, I am going to head North back to France. There is a sand bar at the entry to Ribadesella, and the forecast shows that we might get some strong winds and rain, and I don’t want to get stuck in a place that might be difficult to get out of. Now I have to start my prep for Biscay, dingy cleaned, rolled up and put away, then shopping. Decided to skype family to let them know of the change of plan and found that I had a skype message from my friend and sometime sailing companion John, he is now free of commitments and can get a flight out on Wednesday to do the return trip. Called him to confirm details – I have a crew 🙂 He has emailed: Booked flight for this Wednesday. carrier: Vueling Flights: VY7823 Gatwick 0835 > Barcelona 11.35 VY1579 Barcelona 12.45 > Asturias (Oviedo) 14.15 – Please send a message with: a) where to go when get there b) Where the boat is & keep your phone on!

Tue 6 Aug – Aviles

Decided that it would be easiest for me to go out to the airport and meet him, so into the Tourist info office to find out how to get there. Turns out that it is easy, a €4 20min bus ride, then set off to find the bus station and which bay it goes from. Now set about cleaning up the forward cabin so he has a place to call home! Also, the forward cabin door was, to say the least, difficult to shut, so decided to finally get round and do something about it. Up on the quay there is a load of stands, promoting the joys of the town, one of them is a boat builder, demonstrating how traditional boats are built, so he has all his tools with him 🙂 Luckily he speaks very good English, so I asked that if I bought the door up, could he shave a bit off the top to make it fit, which he agreed to do. I now have a door that’s shuts properly 🙂

Wed 7 Aug – Aviles A trusty crew is arriving

Raining as forecast, so ‘did jobs’ in the boat till it was time to ‘go get de bus’, luckily it has stopped raining. The bus station isn’t far from the boat and all went smoothly getting to the airport and back and meeting John, and guess what! Just out of town there is a Lidl store, I will have to pay it a visit. Once John had got himself sorted and kit stowed we went into town for a look around, he appears to be as impressed with the place as I am.

  

 

 

Thu 8 Aug – Aviles

My routine has to change! John likes an early night whereas I am a late person, so I have to move around quietly! The good side is that I come out into the saloon in the morning and there is a cup of coffee waiting for me :-). We had a visitor this morning, a chap from the Customs, ever such a pleasant man, he filled out his paper work and we had a good chat about his job, he spends a lot of his time on Customs boats and has got as far as the Marquesas Islands in the Pacific Ocean chasing drug dealers. Then into town for dinner and a bus ride out to Lidl. The store is laid out just like the UK ones but the product range is more Spanish, no Ginger Biscuits :'( but I still came back with a bag full of shopping. John had a nap then we went into town for a drink, I decide to have a change and have a G&T, the waiter came with a large brandy style glass full of ice, frozen cherries and slices of lemon and lime. He started pouring the gin and said “Say when”, what sort of thing to say is that 🙂 ? but I paid the price €8.50!

Fri 9 Aug – Aviles

We were going to leave today to head back West to Ribadeo but no wind, so will leave tomorrow when it is promised to blow from the East.

Saw SAGRES leave

 

Then had a lazy day, into town for a wander and an iced coffee, then back to fill up with water and cook dinner – salmon, potato, leek and carrots.

Sat 10 Aug – Aviles ~ Ribadeo : 52mls 10hrs25

Up with the Larks and leave 0745, well nearly, I got a shout from the bow “lines cleared”, went into reverse and didn’t go anywhere, it would appear that we have two lines on the bow, not one ! 🙂 so our exit was a little less than professional. Acquainted John with the sight of the heavy industry that lines the channel from Aviles and headed West. I hadn’t bothered taking the covers off the sails as the wind was from the East, I rigged the inner forestay and polled out my second foresail, as the wind came slightly off the quarter I also flew the mizzen Gennaker, it was a cracking sail.

 

I almost got caught at the end of the trip, we were chatting away and I suddenly realised that the harbour approach was fast bearing down on us, so it was ‘action stations’ to get the second foresail away, luckily I had taken the Gennaker down half an hour earlier when we changed course. Anchored for the night just past the Marina where I had been on my previous visit.

Sun 11 Aug – Ribadeo

Breakfast, up hook and into the Marina, pay the dues €25.32 then into town for John to ‘see the sights’.

  

Mon 12 Aug – Ribadeo ~ Audien ~ false start! : 12mls 3hrs15

After looking at the forecast we had decided that today was the day to make start north. We did our shopping, had a shower and something to eat. I was up in the office returning the marina key and collecting the €20 deposit when the chap from Jersey – Arthur (who I had met just after I first arrived in Le Coruna) walked in, so we had a quick catch up. The wind was fairly strong, about f6 from the NE but due to moderate later, so set off with two reefs in the main. When we got out of the entrance I set course and let out half of the Genoa with a barber haul on to hold it in close, the course for Audien is 23° but the best I could make was 344° at about 3 knots. We did about 4mls then tried a tack and made 110° which was heading back toward the coast so decided to call it a day and head back into Ribadeo. John decided on an early night after the strains of the day so I went round to have a chat with Arthur, it turns out that he came to fame by planting his boat on top of some rocks when racing – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1198156/High-dry-Boat-ends-grounded-rocks-yacht-race.html

a fantastic photo, from which the photographer made quite a bit of money.

Tue 13 Aug – Ribadeo

John broke the news that he had realised that he might have to face those conditions for a day or more and didn’t feel that he was up to it, so had come to the decision to bail out and fly home so spent most of the day arranging things and buying tickets. In the evening we went out for a parting meal of “Pulpo Gallego” and Pimentos.

Wed 14 Aug – Ribadeo ~ Crew bail out

An early start as Johns bus leaves a 0800, luckily the bus station isn’t far from the Marina, but all uphill ! Saw him off then back to the boat to sort things out for my departure. Another last minute trip to the supermarket, fill the boat water tanks, shower, hand in gate key and retrieve my deposit, job done. As I was up early I won’t leave today, but left the marina and anchored in my favoured spot to get an early night and so be fresh in the morning.

Thu 15 Aug – Ribadeo – Audien ~ The Return

Up at 7, a lovely day, the wind had shifted right round and was light from the SW. Sails and hook up at 0745 and passed under the bridge at 8, not enough wind to sail (unlike last time) so motored on 23 degrees for Audierne or more precisely the bay at St Evette 287mls away.

Finally got a bit of wind at about 1230 F4, about 15 knots, from ENE so engine off and turn North to sail, peace at last! But it didn’t last too long, at 1730 I got headed as the wind backed, but that was what was forecast, so role in the foresail and motor again. Now time for dinner before it gets dark, Pizza with extra toppings 🙂 I am well stocked for food, as we had shopped for two, so I have a lot of eating to do!

8pm 12 hour log : 50mls run, 243.5mls to go.

As I’m motoring, it is no hardship on the batteries to have the Radar on, so with the AIS and Radar alarms set I can get my head down (after watching a video on my Tablet).

Fri 16 Aug – 8am 24 hour log : 100mls run, 195.7mls to go

I woke a few times during the night and had a check around, but nothing about even going out to 50mls on an AIS scan. Engine going well, I’m not pushing it, a nice steady 4 knots. Woke when it was light at about 7, sea flat calm.

Breakfast and did my log. The wind, what little there is of it, has backed a little more, enough that I can role out the Genoa and motor-sail, which gives me an extra half knot, which is a 25% increase in speed, not to be sniffed at! Spent the day reading and watching some downloaded TV (The White Queen) on my tablet, I didn’t bother cooking, as I had eaten crisis, biscuits and chocolate whilst watching ‘TV’. Finally got a bit more wind (W3) to sail with at about 1830.

8pm 12 hour log : 59mls run, 139.7mls to go

Put a reef in the main for the night, just in case!

Sat 17 Aug – 8am 24 hour log : 111mls run, 89.9mls to go

The sailing didn’t last for long, wind dropped to W2 and with it a fine misty drizzle, looks like most of it will be on the engine. Checked the fuel, the tank is about 1/3 full, more than enough. Decided on a fry up for my meal today, Egg Bacon Toms & fried bread, I would also have had the rest of the mushrooms but they were now well past it, so deep sixed them. I thought they tasted a bit funny, even with all the garlic, when I had some on the pizza on Thursday! The wind picked up about midday to W4, so sailing again, this was also how the forecast had told the story, it also reckons that it will get stronger over night.

8pm 12 hour log – 54mls run, 38.4mls to go

Wind now SW5 so it looks like I will be arriving in the dark, preped for the night and arrival by dropping the Main. The boat sails well with the wind behind under ‘Jib & Jigger’, in my case ‘Genoa & Mizzen’, the Main just gets in the way and stops the Genoa working fully, and it is a job less to do when I am getting ready to anchor.

Sun 18 Aug – St Evette Bay : 307mls run in 2 days 21 hrs (69hrs)

Wind pushing me along nicely, pity it is now accompanied by fine rain, the sort that really soaks you, ETA is about 0430. Breakwater is about a mile or 20mins away, so get togged up in lightweight wet weather gear and go outside to face the elements! I can see two boats on anchor, one has left his nav lights on, as I get closer I see he is on the move, leaving, so turn and show him a Red. Hook down at 0500, now to sleep.

France

Woke at 0930, a lovely sunny day but very rocky-rolly. A lazy day and prep for the Raz tomorrow.

Mon 19 Aug – St Evette Bay ~ Camaret : 31mls 10hrs20

Early start at 0610 to be at La Plate light 10 mls away at slack water 0830. Wind started at W f2 then went up to f3 so had a sail.

Arrived at Camaret at 1630. Tied up in the Port Vauban marina, rubbish compared to the town marina Port du Styvel, not just the long walk to town but the electricity and water are flaky, €21.02 a night and showers are €2 for 2mins! and they are a long walk away and no wifi. Welcome back to France.

Tue 20 Aug – Camaret

Another sunny day in paradise, walked into town, job #1 get my French 3G internet dongle topped up. No Orange shop here, but the nice young girl in the Tabac where I bought the topup spoke vg English, so I asked her if she would call the automated  freephone number for me and register the topup which she kindly did, so I am back on line. Job #2 if you can call it a job, Moules crème & Frits, now well satisfied. Supermarket for a few alcoholic essentials then enjoy the walk back to the boat. No point in staying in this marina another night I will go out on anchor. When I untied the lines, I managed to avoid the dog mess right by the bollard, but later when coiling the lines, I found one covered in chewing gum! First fuel, so moved the boat to the fuel point and did battle with the automatic fuel vending machine, it rejected two debit cards but on the 2nd go I got it to accept a credit card. I put in a hundred euros worth, 62 ltrs, then went out into the bay and anchored. Now that I’m away from all the electronic pollution I can pick up R4 LW, and what should be on? Bloody Cricket!

Wed 21 Aug – Camaret ~ L’Aber Wrac’h ~ Paluden : 41mls 7hrs45

Up anchor at 0950 to get  to Vieux Moines Port hand mark at slack water to head up the Chenal du Four, wind N2 so motored till just before Le Four lighthouse where the wind picked up to NNE 4 then 5 so I could sail for a bit. Turned into L’Aber Wrac’h channel at 1645 and continued past the marina and on up the Aber to Paluden, picked up a visitor’s buoy at 1735. Very peaceful here.

Thu 22 Aug – Paluden

A lazy day on the visitors mooring buoy at Paluden, and no one came to collect any money.

Fri 23 Aug – Paluden ~ Roscoff (town quay) : 35mls 7hrs20

Drop visitors buoy after the turn of the tide at 1000 but before low water so I could be sure of getting down the river, then picked up someone’s mooring buoy near the river mouth to wait for the current stream to turn East. Left at 1145, LW is 1300, and went out from L’Aber Wrac’h through  La Pendante Passage heading for Roscoff, not a great deal of wind but what there was, was on the quarter. As I was arriving around high water, I decided to go in onto the Vieux Port and tie up on the town quay. Just got tied up and fender board sorted out when the heavens opened up, complete with thunder and lightening, so scuttled in and shut the door for the night, grounded with the falling tide about 2200, so a peaceful night on terra firma.

Sat 24 Aug – Roscoff (town quay) ~ Roscoff marina : 2mls 25mins

Woke about 0600 when I lifted off, quite a windy day, the wind had picked up a fair bit from the East so I decided that this is not the place to be! Left at 0845 and headed out and round to the marina, about half an hour away. Got sorted out and went up to pay my dues, €26 a night, and have a shower, my first since Spain! In the afternoon I caught the bus from the ferry terminal to St Pol de Leon and did some shopping.

Sun 25 Aug – Roscoff ~ Rade de Morlaix : 9mls 1hr45

Had a lazy day doing a few jobs on the boat, waiting for the current to turn East at around 1700 when I would do the 6ml voyage round into the Rade de Morlaix. Followed the buoyed channel in and anchored in the lea of Penn Lann.

Mon 26 Aug – Penn Lann ~ Morlaix : 6mls 1hr45

0800 up hook and head up river to Morlaix, arriving at 0925, just when the lock had opened, it couldn’t have worked better if I’d planned it! 🙂 Had a wander into town and decided to treat myself to a ‘plat d’jour’, then to the supermarket to stock up. Eventually found the marina office open, so paid my dues €21.

Tue 27 Aug – Morlaix ~ Penn Lann : 6mls 1hr25

1055 caught the last lock opening of the day and headed back down river to anchor where I had been the other day. Looks like I might be here for a bit, as the forecast is saying no wind.

Wed 28 Aug – Penn Lann

As per forecast, no wind and fog, but it did clear late afternoon. I made my very first Bread and Butter Pudding! and so as not to waste the oven heat, also did a Pizza for dinner.

 

Thu 29 Aug – Penn Lann

As yesterday, no wind and fog, which cleared in the afternoon. Spent some time checking the engine over and found a fuel leak at the top of the fuel governor. After poking around a bit and running the engine for an hour to top up batteries, the drip rate was a third of a ltr per hour (measured in  a drip catcher), so had to do something! Stripped down accelerator area but couldn’t get to the shaft, so in  desperation, I fed PTFE tape between accelerator top and governor body and wrapped several turns of tape. It looks like I have a temporary fix, hopefully enough to get me back to UK, Phew !! What  to do for dinner? I have the white of an egg, left over from making the Bread & Butter Pud (which isn’t bad for a first attempt) so decided to add it to another egg and make eggy bread and fry up some smoked garlic sausage to have with it, then finish off the Bread & Butter Pud, I think I will add some custard powder to the next one I make. The forecast is suggesting that there might be a NW f3 tomorrow evening and overnight into Saturday, so thinking about doing an overnight run, heading to Jersey about 75mls away.

Fri 30 Aug – Penn Lann ~ St Helier : 81mls 19hrs15

Left Rade de Morlaix at 1115, not a lot of wind, but it did pick up as promised. It was a very black night, so sat inside and listened to the radio, which is great as I can now get Radio4 on FM.

C.I’s

Sat 31 Aug – St Helier

Arrived at St Helier at 0600 just as it was getting light, then had to wait to get in as the ferry turned up at the same time. Clocked 81mls in 18.5 hours. The wind was good to me, W-NW 3-4 so off the quarter all the way.Tied up and went to bed. Woke about 1000, paid my dues £25, had a well deserved shower, then into town to reacquaint myself with St Helier. Fish and Chips for dinned 🙂

Sun 1 Sept – St Helier marina ~ St Aubins bay : 3mls 30mins

A lazy day, looked around a part of St Helier up around the open air swimming pool that I hadn’t visited before. Showered then when the tide was up I left the marina and went out and anchored in St Aubins bay, had the whole of the bay to myself.

Mon 2 Sept – St Aubins bay

A lovely day, just sat and watched the world go by, the only thing that spoilt it was Jet skiers zooming around the boat. I later found that there was a Jet ski hire point on the beach!

Tue 3 Sept – St Aubins bay

More Jet skiers, one really got to me, not sure if he heard what I shouted to him! I was sat out reading my book when he came zooming by, unfortunately his machine was the type that produced a high spout of cooling water. He went by up wind of me and I got a soaking 🙁 On his next lap I flagged him down and ask him which way the wind was blowing, which he got right. I politely explained what had happened and asked him if he would zoom past the downwind side of the boat, which he then did. Got an e-mail from White Lady to say he had arrived in St H, so arranged to meet up with him and Arthur, one of the other single hander’s who I had met in Spain that lived in St H, tomorrow.

Wed 4 Sept – St Aubins bay ~ St Helier : 3mls 45mins

Up fairly early and up sticks to go into Marina, it had to be early due to the Marina access times, showered and treated myself to a fried breakfast at the marina cafe. Met up with David for a coffee, he was then going for a bike ride round to St Aubins Harbour, so I asked him to reconnoitre it for me. We all met up as planned for a beer then went for a meal, a good evening out.

Thu 5 Sept – St Helier ~ St Aubins Harbour : 5mls 1hr

We all met up again as Arthur had offered to take us on a guided tour around the Island, which was very nice of him.

We got back at Six in time for me to leave near HW and go over to St Aubins Harbour. Rafted up against an unoccupied boat against the harbour wall and waited to dry out so I could adjust my lines. I didn’t have to wait too long, as the window when afloat is only an hour and a half either side of HW.

Fri 6 Sept – St Aubins Harbour

Looked round St Aubins, quite a nice place, found the Yacht Club, where I could get a shower, the supermarket and a pub, where I watched the England game on TV. The rest of the place is taken up with restaurants, catering for the holiday makers.

Sat 7 Sept – St Aubins Harbour

Caught the bus back to St H as there was an air intake for the boat engine I had seen and been procrastinating about buying because it was £21.

Sun 8 Sept – St Aubins Harbour ~ Havelet bay, Guernsey : 34mls 6hrs

0715 start, leaving for Guernsey.

Not very lucky with the wind, not much and on the nose. A couple of rain squalls came through, so took shelter inside. Arrived in Havelet bay at 1315, and anchored for the night, and what a night! Very rocky and rolley as the swell built up and was coming straight into the bay, I did sleep, but not as much as I would have liked.

Mon 9 Sept – Havelet bay ~ St PeterPort marina

Up anchor and round into the harbour to fill up with fuel. My original plan was to go back out and anchor, because after fuelling I would be too late to continue on to Cherbourg, but that was not a viable plan with the swell so had to go into the Marina for the night.

Tue 10 Sept – St Peterport ~ Cherbourg : 48mls 8hrs10

Left St PP when I could get over the sill, there was a good breeze blowing down the Little Russel so put the sails up with a reef in the main.When I cleared the top end the wind was just far enough off the port bow to allow me to sail without having to put a tack in so I had a good run up the Alderney Race. When I got to the Cap the inshore current had just started to set West, so carried on NE a bit to keep the tail end of the East flow. Arrived in the inner Rade and was going to anchor but the thought of comfort and a run ashore got the better of me, so I went into the marina. Went up to pay my dues, paid up till Sunday as the YBW get together was scheduled for the weekend. Walking back, I saw White Lady still here, so went round for a chat. David was suffering with a bad back, so was delaying his departure till Thursday.

Wed 11 Sept – Cherbourg

David and I had a wander round town and a beer, then sorted out a place to eat in the evening.

Thur 12 Sept – Cherbourg

Time to make a pilgrimage up to the hypermarket, all the alterations are now complete, no change to the hypermarket but now more external vendors. Found out that our YBW Forum get together in Cherboug had been postponed due to bad weather for the return on Sunday, so called it a day, got a refund for the extra days and preped to leave for Poole in the morning.

Fri 13 Sept – Cherbourg ~ Poole (chain ferry) : 71mls 12hrs20

Good job that I’m not superstitious, left at 0630 and Grand Rade at 0700. A good crossing, wind F4 from West until about two hours out of Poole. I could see the rain rolling in so dug out waterproofs. The rain came and the wind picked up, I reefed the Genoa but when it got to F6 I decided that I should do something with the Main, it wasn’t worth reefing, so decided to heave to and drop it. Got going again and was still doing 6 knots, that’s the beauty of a ketch. Reached the chain ferry at 1920. Up round the buoys toward Hamworthy to look for a spare buoy for the night, found one but couldn’t get onto it as I was blown off before I could get to the bow, tried a couple more times and failed miserably, so gave up and went further on to anchor. Finally anchored at 2100, much easier. Dried myself out, cooked dinner and bed.

Sat 14 Sept – Hamworthy ~ Wareham ~ Mooring : 14mls 3hrs

0730 up sticks to get the tide up to Wareham, retrieved my dingy at Ridge then onto mooring. Home at last! Tidied up then spent the rest of the day – train and a couple of busses – to get home and retrieve the car.

Sun 15 Sept

Back to boat to de-kit – Trip over. 109 days away, 1907mls covered.