So this part is for H’s blurb. – 18 Sept 2016
I JUST LOVE IT ALL…………
So my account of Biscay. It was great. 350 miles and we did it.
Some amazing, never to be forgotten experiences, the dolphins and whales were really special but the really special moments was the night sky and the amount of shooting stars….they were truly brilliant. They flew across the sky with such speed and lasted for ages. How fast do they travel?… The best part though was arriving at the other side. The feelings were of such magnitude. I felt so proud of all 3 boats and so proud of the children, the wife, the boat and myself. I looked in the eyes of the girls and mentioned that possibly in many years time they may be telling their grandchildren of when they first crossed Biscay. What a thing for their CV. They were excellent. Sailing with Albatross and Magellan made for excellent company and created a friendship that will be there forever. Looking out for each other is a great feeling.
So the night passages..we went into the night with not a boat in sight and as soon as I started my watch around 25 fishing boats appeared on AIS. One was a threat but it turned away. It was nice being a huddle of 3 yachts transmitting on AIS. Then around 30 minutes later in the pitch black of night one appeared to starboard which I kept an eye on. Around 20 minutes later I checked again and it was getting close. I had to alter course by around 60 degrees to go behind it. I check and the other 2 boats were safe, it was only on my path. It’s hard to believe in all the seas you can come that close but we went behind and all was safe. It was a reminder though that on your watch you had to still be alert. By the way we normally listen to channel 08 to talk to each other but in the pitch black of night there is so much noise (I call it creed but I am sure it has a name) it sounded like aliens. We therefore only listened to channel 16 so not to wake anyone. Around midnight I am also startled by noises coming from all around the boat. I look into the blackness to try and see what is so close to us, after a few moments I realised it was Dolphins jumping and playing with us. The worry soon turned to magic. The rest of the watch was without problems. Just watching the stars, then the chart plotter, then scanning the blackness then back to the stars and so on. I was relieved when Caroline took over.
The next night wasn’t so good. We had the wind behind us all day and this continued into the night. Around 7 knots gusting to 13 at times. After adjusting the sails a few times I settled on a fully reefed main and a small headsail. The thrashing of the sails rocking from side to side was really shaking the mast. The swell was around 3 metres and often it would have the boat rocking really violently from left to right. Moving around down below was difficult and even near on impossible to get the bed set up with the lee cloth to sleep against. Everything that could slide did slide (including the laptop off the chart table onto the floor). I was glad the cupboard with all the tins in held strong. Every time the wind blew harder the boat would rock. The boat down below was a mess. My watch was very tiring and almost impossible to keep awake. Caroline couldn’t really sleep during her sleep period which worried me as she then wouldn’t be able to cover her watch properly but she did it to my amazement. The girls once asleep just slept through it all. Sunrise the next morning was a welcome sight. But we did it. 350 miles. Shame the AIS transponder packed up half way across which worried a few people that were tracking us on marine traffic. Luckily I could still send emails to reassure my mother that we were safe. It’s not nice using a pc whilst the motion of the sea is not helping you.
Well that’s my account and very happy that we did it.
Well 2 months have passed since we left. It’s so hard to believe all of it. We have travelled some 1,600 miles, France, Channel Islands, Brittany coast, North Spain, the whole Portugese coast, Northern Spanish coast and has it been worth all the effort. Definitely YES. What a life. It’s not all plain sailing but watching the happiness of the children every day. The ports and places we have seen, the people we have met, the sights we have seen.
The children have experienced all the above, they walk around towns with parrots flying with pigeons. They watch huge lobsters walking across the seabed. They are picking up the local languages. They have made friends with so many other children doing the same thing and as always with adults to. They speak to everyone and bring a smile to their faces almost instantly. On arrival at any port they rush to get the boats documents and passport and are out on deck in no time.
They have become such amazing sailors. They do the engine checks in the morning; they both input the waypoints for the next leg before I am back from the showers using the pilot books. They both now alternate in taking the boat out of the berth and out of the marina. One steers and does the engine whilst the other casts off the lines. At sea Jessie can haul up the mainsail up to the last 2 feet. Olivia monitors the chart plotter watching for other boats, tracking their progress and getting vital information off to help in ensuring a safe passage. In fog this is a great help. She watches the radar like a hawk. They both are fluent in using the VHF and confident in calling marina’s and talking to other ships using the correct etiquette. Jessie has learned how to navigate using a Portland plotter and Olivia can take a GPS reading and transfer it to the chart. Both are definitely more confident than both Caroline and myself in walking around the boat. Watching them grow up in this environment has me holding back the tears in the morning. They never want to leave ports as they enjoy them all and when we tell them we have a long sail say 77miles, they ask “is it as long as Biscay” and we say “no” they reply “well it’s not a long sail then”. 10 hours of sailing is not uncommon and they just really enjoy it.
They have managed to get amazing tans. So again is it worth it?. Of course it is. I started teaching with them and just enjoy it so much. They have loads to learn but being a part of that makes it special. They have visited so many churches and all ports have history which they enjoy hearing about. They have now started fishing with Daddy and watch as we gut and prepare Tuna. Again a great part of life (by the way we have yet to catch a fish but Magellan is catching them and passing them on as they seem to be catching quite a few). Doing Maths or English at the bow of the boat whilst sailing is not bad…
I hope we carry on for many years. It is still a bit surreal at present and waiting for the bubble to burst but at the moment just so pleased that we took the leap of faith. Many need to follow the norm of life and need the rules that are dictated but I think if you have the ability to look outside of that for a short period and try to really engulf what is important then you will see the wealth of such an adventure. Be Brave and anyone thinking about it…Just do it.
I do thank all of you that send us emails and blog notes (especially Alice, Rika, Dulcie and Graham & Mags). Thanks Kev for the updates on the cruising club site. I love your comments. It really helps us all. Thank you to Ian and our Bradwell cruising club friends, when I was having problems with the generator. All fixed for now. Thank you Graham and Mags again. And in addition to all the fellow sailors that we have met. Most going south doing a very similar thing, all with great stories and reasons for doing it. By the way every boat new and old all have problems without exception. We spent a lot of time and money on Arctic Fern but I am so pleased. She has been so well prepared to look after us.
A special mention to:
Magellan, Albatross, Mizar, Blue Zulu, Pipe Dream, Laridae, Jeanie Marie. There are many others but I just can’t remember the boat names.
And as always – Thanks Mum.
I JUST LOVE IT and feel so grateful for such an opportunity.
PS if anyone has holiday left then feel free to come visit us.