Well finally started the grand deplacement, away from the deadend deadbeat Treguier.
Drove through the night from Bergerac area, picked up a new domestic battery, compass and a few nuts and bolts, arrived at treg and had the boat on the cale ready for a scrub by 11:15, ably helped by mate Jamie and sea dog Pru.
Once she had dried out, we hit the nearest restuarant for a pizza and a pichet of rose to help sustain us through the long afternoon and even longer evening.
What a mess she was covered in weed and nasty sharp barnacles,removing them from knees elbows and feet for a coule of days later.
As soon as possible we refloated and headed back for the poontons, and while J sorted business on the internet, i fitted nav lights (re wired them) autohelm, compass and radio aerial, should have done the mast head one as it turned out later.
Rather than leaving on the evening tide, as we were still working at 02:00 we decided to catch some much needed sleep and use the morning tide to head down to L'Aberwrach where J's boat had been languishing for a few weeks.
Have only been in residence on Moonfish, yet have crammed so much into 6 weeks, major surgery to the living quarters, a 738 mile voyage to Lisbon and Flight back via Paris.
Then met a guy who i had seen perform at Glastonbury Festival in the '90's became firm friends over a few bottles of red wine and a 900 mile round trip to take him home, to find a place to live after a relationship hiccup!
Now back in Treguier, with another boat under my watchful eye, until he returns and we sail it down to Bordeaux at the end of Avril.
Better than sitting in Somerset, thinking about doing what i am but actually doing it, the adventures just keep on coming, looking forward to a short visit from son and girlfriend next week, must clear up and mae them up a bed :)
What luxury, soft close larder unit for a 40 year old boat, don't half help my back when bending down to find food and cooking pots and pans, courtesy of youngest son being sharp eyed at returns desk at work
I was sat on my venerable, and slowly being bought back up to scratch, Macwester 28 in my home berth at Port du Plaisance Treguier. After finally having enough Gordon`s Britain and moved aboard permanently, when out of the river appears a large blue yacht heading straight across part of the river one does not go. You guessed it straight into the putty, how we at the bar laughed happens every year and we guessed she was flying a red duster.
After getting off on the rising tide, they tied up on the hammer head six berths up from mine, and come 11:30pm along comes the sounds of a domestic, leading me to yell “Keep your shouting below please” or words to that effect, most of the night there was pacing up and down the pontoon with a young man desperately talking on his mobile.
The next day, the skipper and I exchanged pleasantries and then found out they were a delivery crew Lisbon bound, but one short as the young man had left to return home as his mother was taken into hospital. That evening being the kind soul I be, I ran the skipper up to the town to find a restaurant and partook of a couple of beers which basically led to me being seconded as the third member of crew required for the Biscay, and a boozy dinner and quick intro to the female member of crew who had remained aboard (no names no pack drill as events will show are needed!)
So we cast off heading for Cameret as the vessel did not have a spare impellor and it had been posted there for them to pick up on the way.
The Yacht master Ocean took us due north after I piloted out the river due to local knowledge even though I turned to the west as soon as was safe, hairs begun to raise on the back of my head about this female! Skipper woke from his post dinner snooze and demanded why we were heading north and we eventually ended up going the right way, west.
3 hour shift pattern was established and we approached the Chanel du Four at the beginning of the downtide at 00:15 a very placid passage for what can be a very nasty piece of work, she spat us out around 02:00 and we laid a course for the fuel pontoon at Cameret and arrived at 05:30. Picked up the impellors after the French lunch and the pumps were turned off as it is still out of season.
Cameret fuel berth.
Gas, bread, chocolate and cigarettes were sourced and off we go at 15:40 La Corunna bound………..
We settled into a good rhythm on a watch system going and cleared the ras de Seine entrance buoy and basically headed 235 degrees towards Spain, giving us the option of La Corunna or bypassing straight to Camarinaze Marina Spanish town Muros.
We motored for approx 10 hours with the main on its first reef due to some really strange setup for the cross between single line and slab reefing system, which would come and bite us in the arse later in the trip. She had a big stick this cruiser racer and a deep long fin of 2.2m but a very soft ride and rode the sea well.
Helming out of cameret
On my watch 21:00-00:00 I became bored of the drone of the Lombardini 40cv beneath my feet, with enough breeze to sail! So checking with the skipper unrolled 50% of the Genoa and off we ramped sans engine at a healthy 7knots SOG.
The engine was not required again for 40 hours, the following which were sheer and total bliss, sailing a well designed yacht across the fearsome Biscay with a steady force 3 to 4 we made good time and however the female member of crew was becoming more and more bizarre in her speak and abilities, she was on the watch rota after me and I never slept as most of the time she sat in the saloon or raided the fridge, also comments such as “madness only comes after one day/night at sea for me” after asking had I seen mermaids! Alarm bells rang and spoke quietly with skipper and he broached the subject of her qualifications and to show them to me, what ensued was that she obtained the whole lots, day skipper to ocean yacht master in one month at a hot Spanish resort area sailing school (probably lying flat on her back, even though ugly as sin) to which I did comment and she withdrew and hardly spoke to either of us again.
Approaching the third night at sea with an ETA of 00:45 into La Corunna I woke from my slumber and immediately dressed in full wets and lifejacket, the wind had risen considerably, well to cut a long story short we ran into a Gale force 8 that the dozy cow hadn’t noticed with all her experience, in fact she took to her bed in the forepeak and was not seen again for nearly 8 hours while the Skipper and I sat it out and brought the boat into La Corunna, this vessel was superb and at no time with gusts up to 48knots reading on the instruments she kept her head and crew safe.
On approach to the port of La Corunna the engine began to hunt, slowly reducing in revs, we eventually made it into the first brand spanking new marina and collapsed into our bunks at 01:45.
The following day the fun really began!!!
Here I go again!
With the sum total of 4 hours sleep, Skipper dragged me to lunch, still feeling the night before and generally knackered with the constant battering and anxiety of the night before.
Berthed at new marina in La Coruna mad cow on deck
We checked the type serial number and availability of new primary fuel filter and on chandlers asked us to come back at 18:00 and she could give us a reply, the others all quoted 5/6 days delivery.
Lunch consisted of 2 beers sandwich and coffee and the largest cognac ever, my debrief was given and told get off my arse and convert my theory YM to practical so that I could work for and with the skipper again, also profound thanks for sitting out the gale with him, as most crew usually throw up and go to bed
Staggered back to the boat, grabbed a couple of hours sleep and female one nowhere to be seen, went out for an evening meal and eventually just about got back to the boat in one piece, damn land legs had given up, or was it that last brandy one could never tell, skipper took a different route so stayed up til he stumbled onboard in similar state. Bed!
Woke next morning to bright sun and screaming hangover, and another domestic starting on board “there`s a loose current in the battery box” female crew at it again, well basically she left the boat of her own volition never to be seen again.
Asked if happy to carry on 2 up, and without new filter as we couldn`t get one tilthe following week, so agreed, forecast NE 2/3 nice one straight round, so off we go.
Happy days, the boat had a completely different feel and a relaxed skipper and crew, well sometime during the evening I had been promoted to first mate. We were 4 hours out of La Corunna and ch 16 gave another gale warning but only a 7, so after quick confab we decided to press on and seek shelter at Muros as neither of us wished to slog back to windward.
The sea state and wind didn`t really get up until we had made the turn in, as we ran under front wheel drive (genny) afore the building wind. As ever the wind gods then lost patience and gusted up to 8`s and almost laid us flat, skipper called for engine totally no response dead as a dodo and all we both could say was shit shit shit.
Called a pan pan for assistance and the marina sent the bloody lifeboat which executed a perfect tow in for the last 4 nm`s and berthed us onto the hammerhead. It had been very scary.
After a period of time and a couple of beers and tapas we set about hunting down why?
It turned out the mad cow had turned the battery switch over from 2 to engine start and the battery was flat, onto all and she started toute de suite, you cannot imagine the curses and the language at what I feel was a personal attempt to cause us harm, she was mad.
Slipped the next morning at 07:30 after blagging some sugar from a bar as the supermercado didn`t open til 09:30 and we had already been divested of 104€ for the tow and were pretty pissed off!
The next installment:
Sunrise off the Portuguese coast
The morning brought blue skies and a loverly NE breeze so we decided upon 1 hour watches until later and suck and see after the previous days excitement, clearing up the mess and general duties resumed and along she flew main and genny SOG of 7/8knots in around 14knots of wind.
All was set fair and the battery switch in the right place and fully charged ready for berthing at our next stop which was to be a few hours kip and a couple of small ones in the Royal Yacht Club in Bayonne, if we made good time!
Trying to spot pots J
Well we made a calm and relaxed passage to Bayonne, after bleeding water and muck out of the fuel filter under way, the gales off La Corunna and Muros had stirred up the tank and we had obviously got some dodgy fuel either from Treguier or Camaret!
The Bayonne yacht club is stupendous, and well worth a visit if ever that way, we refrained from eating there but had a couple of sherberts and tapas before retiring to the boat to good old spagbog and bed.
Set sail early hours 05:00 for the final leg into Caiscas at the mouth of Lisbon just south of the Estoril racing circuit.
This was a steady and enjoyable trip mostly under sail and if the motor started playing up, a five minute stop would allow the bits to fall away and off she would go again, the only pain was the pot buoys along the coast, the joy of pods of dolphins bow riding in the night, blazing trails in the luminous green light from the effervescence was stunningly beautiful and entrancing, making up for the trials and tribulations of the trip.
Sunset of the Portuguese coast
We finally got into Caiscas at 19:00 the next day, relieved and relaxed, given a waiting berth for the night, which again ended up as a meal out and way too much to drink, but hell we had just sailed over 800nms with many problems and let our hair, well not mine, down.
Scrubbed the boat down after moving her to her new home, and caught a flight home, that trip turned out worse than the sailing but another story.
Conclusions:
Would I do it again?
Yes at the drop of a hat, the skipper was the most able seaman I had ever come across, the mad female crew had been riding him for days and yet we stayed safe and secure, the boat was a dream, and at no time felt like she would give up. Before of course we did…………….
At last the work begins, here`s the new tiller kindly made for me by a chantier navaire in Paimpol with matching grain to the originals curve. Magnifique
Well i am now finally doing what i should have done december 2007 rather than be lured down to the south of France to help some supposed friends!
I still feel bad about a great friend to me passing away on his boat that Christmas, but will always remember that last meal he prepared for my son and I, 17th Dec freezing in his cockpit eating his curry and sharing stories as ever, hope you are at peace Bob.
Now the boat is nearly two years older and needs more work, but nothing terrible, and it will be done.
