We’re still in Cardiff – but that’s not a problem – we’ve been made very welcome at the Cardiff Yacht Club ( http://www.cardiffyachtclub.org/ ) and have had a great time visiting relatives and friends in the area. The weather has been a bit wet (in general since arriving at the Scillies) so that has curtailed some of the days out but I suppose it is us taking a bit of time to get used to the British weather again after having been spoilt in the past with a higher number of days of blue skies in France, Spain and Portugal.
It was also a bit of a change for us to be in such a vibrant city as Cardiff after having mainly been in quiet places during the last couple of months. The centre is buzzing with people and the huge shops are very busy, the old docks area has been developed into a modern tourist attraction area since the Barrage was finished and is now ‘The Bay’; it has the feel of a very modern, active city. One of the events in The Roald Dahls Plass one evening was a fantastic aerial display performed by a French Circus team which (in the main part) were suspended 60 or so feet in the air from a crane in a contraption similar to a giant chandelier and incorporated their musical instruments and trapeze artists. I will try to pick a couple of the better photos to give you an idea of what it was like.. The evening finished with a fireworks display ( and a couple of pints in the ‘Packet’ ).
The main reason for visiting Cardiff is to visit as many of my Aunts, Uncles and cousins as possible ( from my father’s side ) because we very rarely get down to South Wales and it has been a number of years (too many to mention) since we have seen them. The photographs, cine film and stories from the distant days of childhood holidays were fantastic to see and hear. Another good thing was the visit of a distant relative ( 3rd cousin of my father’s from his mother’s side) that had contacted Carolyn while she was researching the family tree. The young lady ( young 80’s ! ) in question had driven up from near Heathrow airport to stay with her half-sister near Cardiff which also allowed her to meet up with us and put a face to the sender of the family-tree emails.
It’s going to be difficult to move on , not just because the weather is not suitable – we’ve had a great time here and would thoroughly recommend Cardiff as a city / area to visit or have a holiday. May be the weather will be better for heading West by the weekend or early next week – watch this space…… In the meantime we will try to select a few of the ‘better’ (less compromising?) photos to post up on the next instalment.
17th July 2009, Cardiff, Wales
Just a few words - more later...
We left Padstow about 10:30 on the 15th to make our way north, hoping that the seas were not too big and that we would make good time up to either Lundy (40 miles) or Coombe Martin (60 miles). We ended up at Coombe Martin, which is near Ilfracoombe, and anchored there for the night at about 9pm ish. The seas looked like going to Lundy would not have been a good option and the distance to Cardiff the following day would be less from Coombe Martin - so Coombe Martin it was. A little bit rolly but that settled during the night and we left there at about 6am and had a little bit of a sail up to Cardiff - the wind was meant to be SW but started off from the south then moved to just south of east - too tight again so we put the engine on and motor-sailed.
We hope to be in Cardiff for a week or more and will add another post later in the week. The route has been updated.
We left Padstow about 10:30 on the 15th to make our way north, hoping that the seas were not too big and that we would make good time up to either Lundy (40 miles) or Coombe Martin (60 miles). We ended up at Coombe Martin, which is near Ilfracoombe, and anchored there for the night at about 9pm ish. The seas looked like going to Lundy would not have been a good option and the distance to Cardiff the following day would be less from Coombe Martin - so Coombe Martin it was. A little bit rolly but that settled during the night and we left there at about 6am and had a little bit of a sail up to Cardiff - the wind was meant to be SW but started off from the south then moved to just south of east - too tight again so we put the engine on and motor-sailed.
We hope to be in Cardiff for a week or more and will add another post later in the week. The route has been updated.
10th July 2009, Padstow
After checking the weather at Camaret we made the night crossing to the Scillies direct from Camaret instead of calling in at Ouessant – it looked like the stronger winds were coming in early. After a misty, wet and miserable start the weather lifted a bit for crossing the shipping separation scheme northeast of Ouessant. We had a change of plan before we left - to go through the Chanel Du Four to make best use of the tide and current, there were ten other French boats on a rally chasing us but they carried on along the north coast of France when we made our turn to head north. Once clear of the shipping lanes we got the engine off and had a good sail for the rest of the way with 15 – 20 knots of wind and arrived in Hugh Town about 8:15am, spoke to the Harbour Master on the radio and said that I would see him in the afternoon after some sleep. We used the radar for most occasions that we met shipping so that we could work out their speed and the closest point of approach and that worked a treat….
If anyone is passing Camaret and needs to buy diesel at the marina - Don’t !! Take cans to the Supermarket (Camaret) and get it for 99cents a litre or buy it at somewhere like Loctudy 1.07€ at the marina . In Camaret marina it is 1.26!!!! We paid 1.19 in Herbaudier and thought that was expensive. However we are now clear of French waters and no visits from the Customs ; we hear many stories about yachts being boarded several times during their visit to France but they didn’t bother us even once….
Hugh Town was much the same as we remembered it and we stayed on the buoy in St Mary’s Pool for most of the days for the peace of mind that we were on a strong mooring rather than be at anchor – however it was un-comfortable at times with the swell coming in from the west. Before we left for Padstow we made our way round to Porth Cressa to anchor and give the hull a good scrape to clean off the weed from around the water-line. Since coming back into the northern waters of Spain and France the rate of growth has increased and the speed through the water was definitely reduced. We have also left the Scillies a day ahead of the original plan so that we didn’t get caught out with the strong winds that are predicted over the next few days. The passage here to Padstow was also overnight to make best use of tides and ( we thought ) the winds; but the winds were much lighter that predicted and we had the motor on all the way. We will wait until the seas settle and the wind is favourable before we make our way to Wales for the next port of call.
If anyone is passing Camaret and needs to buy diesel at the marina - Don’t !! Take cans to the Supermarket (Camaret) and get it for 99cents a litre or buy it at somewhere like Loctudy 1.07€ at the marina . In Camaret marina it is 1.26!!!! We paid 1.19 in Herbaudier and thought that was expensive. However we are now clear of French waters and no visits from the Customs ; we hear many stories about yachts being boarded several times during their visit to France but they didn’t bother us even once….
Hugh Town was much the same as we remembered it and we stayed on the buoy in St Mary’s Pool for most of the days for the peace of mind that we were on a strong mooring rather than be at anchor – however it was un-comfortable at times with the swell coming in from the west. Before we left for Padstow we made our way round to Porth Cressa to anchor and give the hull a good scrape to clean off the weed from around the water-line. Since coming back into the northern waters of Spain and France the rate of growth has increased and the speed through the water was definitely reduced. We have also left the Scillies a day ahead of the original plan so that we didn’t get caught out with the strong winds that are predicted over the next few days. The passage here to Padstow was also overnight to make best use of tides and ( we thought ) the winds; but the winds were much lighter that predicted and we had the motor on all the way. We will wait until the seas settle and the wind is favourable before we make our way to Wales for the next port of call.
6th July 2009
While you wait for the update of the trip from France to the Scillies, Carolyn thought it was important that you got the crew (real) version of the Biscay crossing – So here it is.
Hi there! The Biscay Crossing....
We're here! I know ... you may already know already but I'm shouting you see!
Well you can read the blog which gives you some idea of what it was like! ... or read on!
For the first 24 hrs we had the engine on and there was no traffic - no problem to me! Indeed I even thought to myself that one or two ships per watch would be good! Only down side was that as soon as I started my 9 - 12 watch then my batteries went on my mp3 player! Ach weel!It had been very misty so we had the engine on but we did have lots of phosphorescence in the water - it looked like blue coals flashing past. Fantastic! (It's actually the only good thing about a night sail) Then the dolphins came to play and for most of the night there were one or two dolphins by the boat. They looked like flashing blue torpedoes!
Day 2 dawned and the wind came round to a better direction and off went the engine. All sails up and of course the wind starts rising when I'm on watch and Trevor's having a sleep(well trying to) I'll be fine lah lah lah the usual - I sing when I'm nervous! Still rising, now gusting 18knots. Not horrendous but we do have all sails out. I poke my head in the cabin and say "I think we'll have to shorten sail" Nothing! - He's finally managed to drop off. I'll manage. I reef the genoa and keep looking at the wind speed. Gusting 20 knots. I poke my head in the cabin and try again but I really don't want to wake him. Nothing. Glad he's having a doze so it's more lah lah lah. Gusting 22knots and my head is in the cabin door and I have no problem with the volume now when I announce "I think we need to shorten sail" ! It was fine - up he got, reefed the main and Balchis leans less and seams more comfortable - nae bother! We do 3 hrs on 3 hrs off on long trips so there's no real time to go to bed we just get by with a couple of hours at a time. After all of the reefing Trevor can't sleep anyway and the boat is rolling a bit. We decide to try a snack and maybe eat later at 8 or 9. Yeehah I'm now off watch! Phew! This, of course, is not how it looks but how it feels! Anyway it's fine when we're both awake or even better when I'm asleep! I don't remember if I went for a lie down but soon it was time to balance a bowl of bolognese (with the spaghetti already cut!) With dinner over it's my watch again - 9 - 12. I dodge fishing boats, worry about how far away Di and Bob on Sheer Fantasy are and get by. No dolphins tonight but more traffic. I feel as if they are all heading towards me! Still, not long until I'm off watch at midnight and Trevor had charged up batteries for my mp3 player. Very quiet lah lah lah because Trevor worries about the funny noises!
Midnight and I can make Trevor a tea and give a traffic report - nothing actually came within 2 miles but it feels like dodgems to me! I'm off to bed. Phew! Still rolling about a bit but we have created a nest in the cabin and you can wedge yourself in! Well in no time at all it's 3am. More traffic around and Trevor tells the story of a mast head light and a yacht which hadn't noticed him and didn't have any low down lights. Apparently it was the other way round but sleep deprivation's a wonderful thing. After going up forward and using the 33,000 million candle flashlight on the sails and then putting on all our motoring lights he veered quickly away! Glad I was in bed!
Mp3 player on and still sailing without any engine. Use of the radar is limited to save electricity. Quite a lot of traffic. Red lights - oh yes "no port left"(port you see is red in colour) Green lights well they're not red so "no port left" - not. so must be starboard must be right. OK he's going left to right that one is getting fainter the other one is getting brighter can't see nav lights(red or green) on most as they are too far away. Nav lights on that one but it looks ages away. I'll just have a wee squint at the radar. All appears ok. I can't tell which radar blob or light is Sheer Fantasy but they're bound to be going the same way Lah lah lah. So it goes on. Then there is a bright light ahead but no nav lights. Mast head so maybe there's a red or green sector light showing - no! Bloody hell! Well Trevor's dozed off so I'll manage lah lah lah. The light is on a steady bearing... ok I'll alter..... No, still on a steady bearing. I'll alter more - 10 degrees this time. No! Still on collision course! Still no visible nav lights! No more lah lah lah - way past that! 20 degrees and that's all I can do as I'll lose the wind. Shit! No! Still on collision course! Still no nav lights. Cabin open " Trevor!" Quick explanation to tired skipper while the sweat trickles down my back! Have you checked through the binoculars? Emm no! Trevor checks through binoculars and ........ bursts out laughing tells me it is a star, well planet, and announces he's going back to bed!!!
I could tell you about how I then couldn't tell the difference between a yacht with faint lights 1 mile away and a lighthouse 8 miles away but I won't!
I'll need to go now and lie down as I'm exhausted just typing it!
Carolyn
Hi there! The Biscay Crossing....
We're here! I know ... you may already know already but I'm shouting you see!
Well you can read the blog which gives you some idea of what it was like! ... or read on!
For the first 24 hrs we had the engine on and there was no traffic - no problem to me! Indeed I even thought to myself that one or two ships per watch would be good! Only down side was that as soon as I started my 9 - 12 watch then my batteries went on my mp3 player! Ach weel!It had been very misty so we had the engine on but we did have lots of phosphorescence in the water - it looked like blue coals flashing past. Fantastic! (It's actually the only good thing about a night sail) Then the dolphins came to play and for most of the night there were one or two dolphins by the boat. They looked like flashing blue torpedoes!
Day 2 dawned and the wind came round to a better direction and off went the engine. All sails up and of course the wind starts rising when I'm on watch and Trevor's having a sleep(well trying to) I'll be fine lah lah lah the usual - I sing when I'm nervous! Still rising, now gusting 18knots. Not horrendous but we do have all sails out. I poke my head in the cabin and say "I think we'll have to shorten sail" Nothing! - He's finally managed to drop off. I'll manage. I reef the genoa and keep looking at the wind speed. Gusting 20 knots. I poke my head in the cabin and try again but I really don't want to wake him. Nothing. Glad he's having a doze so it's more lah lah lah. Gusting 22knots and my head is in the cabin door and I have no problem with the volume now when I announce "I think we need to shorten sail" ! It was fine - up he got, reefed the main and Balchis leans less and seams more comfortable - nae bother! We do 3 hrs on 3 hrs off on long trips so there's no real time to go to bed we just get by with a couple of hours at a time. After all of the reefing Trevor can't sleep anyway and the boat is rolling a bit. We decide to try a snack and maybe eat later at 8 or 9. Yeehah I'm now off watch! Phew! This, of course, is not how it looks but how it feels! Anyway it's fine when we're both awake or even better when I'm asleep! I don't remember if I went for a lie down but soon it was time to balance a bowl of bolognese (with the spaghetti already cut!) With dinner over it's my watch again - 9 - 12. I dodge fishing boats, worry about how far away Di and Bob on Sheer Fantasy are and get by. No dolphins tonight but more traffic. I feel as if they are all heading towards me! Still, not long until I'm off watch at midnight and Trevor had charged up batteries for my mp3 player. Very quiet lah lah lah because Trevor worries about the funny noises!
Midnight and I can make Trevor a tea and give a traffic report - nothing actually came within 2 miles but it feels like dodgems to me! I'm off to bed. Phew! Still rolling about a bit but we have created a nest in the cabin and you can wedge yourself in! Well in no time at all it's 3am. More traffic around and Trevor tells the story of a mast head light and a yacht which hadn't noticed him and didn't have any low down lights. Apparently it was the other way round but sleep deprivation's a wonderful thing. After going up forward and using the 33,000 million candle flashlight on the sails and then putting on all our motoring lights he veered quickly away! Glad I was in bed!
Mp3 player on and still sailing without any engine. Use of the radar is limited to save electricity. Quite a lot of traffic. Red lights - oh yes "no port left"(port you see is red in colour) Green lights well they're not red so "no port left" - not. so must be starboard must be right. OK he's going left to right that one is getting fainter the other one is getting brighter can't see nav lights(red or green) on most as they are too far away. Nav lights on that one but it looks ages away. I'll just have a wee squint at the radar. All appears ok. I can't tell which radar blob or light is Sheer Fantasy but they're bound to be going the same way Lah lah lah. So it goes on. Then there is a bright light ahead but no nav lights. Mast head so maybe there's a red or green sector light showing - no! Bloody hell! Well Trevor's dozed off so I'll manage lah lah lah. The light is on a steady bearing... ok I'll alter..... No, still on a steady bearing. I'll alter more - 10 degrees this time. No! Still on collision course! Still no visible nav lights! No more lah lah lah - way past that! 20 degrees and that's all I can do as I'll lose the wind. Shit! No! Still on collision course! Still no nav lights. Cabin open " Trevor!" Quick explanation to tired skipper while the sweat trickles down my back! Have you checked through the binoculars? Emm no! Trevor checks through binoculars and ........ bursts out laughing tells me it is a star, well planet, and announces he's going back to bed!!!
I could tell you about how I then couldn't tell the difference between a yacht with faint lights 1 mile away and a lighthouse 8 miles away but I won't!
I'll need to go now and lie down as I'm exhausted just typing it!
Carolyn
4th July 2009
Arrived in the Scillies 0815 yesterday , 3rd July. Not much internet connection. All OK. More Later.
1st July , Camaret
We had a look at the weather in Loctudy and it looked quite promising for crossing to the Scillies overnight on the 3rd July – so we have move a little closer to the crossing point. We left Loctudy knowing that it would be a long motor to get here but a motor to Camaret was more acceptable than a motor from Camaret to the Scillies. However, we left about 9:30 so that we could get past the couple of headlands with the tide not too strongly against us (it wasn’t going to be perfect, and we played the inland route past the Raz de Sein to make use of the counter-current (which made a big difference to us as we caught up on the boats that had left 45 minutes before us when they were plugging away in the middle of the channel and not making much headway).
Luctudy is a lovely wee town and the marina ( you could also use the buoys in the river) had free WiFi, free use of bicycles which made it easier to get to the Carefour, about 1 mile away; and there was no noise from the town or disturbance from the fishing fleet. Absolutely wonderful! Diesel was 1.07 € unlike Herbaudier which was 1.19 €. This year in France we have also been very pleasantly surprised by the attitude of the locals – 2007 they seemed very discourteous and rude (with the odd exception) – this year they are all very friendly , polite and excellent hosts. We have put it down to the fact that we are earlier in the season this year and may be they were fed-up with tourists from across the Channel by the time we got there in 2007. Who knows?? The main thing that we have realised is that the image we got in 2007 stayed with us ( until proved wrong this year ) ! When anyone meets a foreigner (or tourist of any nationality) they are representing their country – they should give the visitor a good image to take away with them.... (rant over.)
We are currently checking which stuff we need to buy before leaving France that may be cheaper than in UK ( not onions – 2.50€ per kilo - 60 cents in Spain ). It may be worth getting some of the fermented grape-juice that seems quite popular out here – even though they sell it in plastic bottles… We also need to get some meat & veg to last us a few days because we may anchor at Ouessant before crossing or go straight to the Scillies ( not sure yet ).
Luctudy is a lovely wee town and the marina ( you could also use the buoys in the river) had free WiFi, free use of bicycles which made it easier to get to the Carefour, about 1 mile away; and there was no noise from the town or disturbance from the fishing fleet. Absolutely wonderful! Diesel was 1.07 € unlike Herbaudier which was 1.19 €. This year in France we have also been very pleasantly surprised by the attitude of the locals – 2007 they seemed very discourteous and rude (with the odd exception) – this year they are all very friendly , polite and excellent hosts. We have put it down to the fact that we are earlier in the season this year and may be they were fed-up with tourists from across the Channel by the time we got there in 2007. Who knows?? The main thing that we have realised is that the image we got in 2007 stayed with us ( until proved wrong this year ) ! When anyone meets a foreigner (or tourist of any nationality) they are representing their country – they should give the visitor a good image to take away with them.... (rant over.)
We are currently checking which stuff we need to buy before leaving France that may be cheaper than in UK ( not onions – 2.50€ per kilo - 60 cents in Spain ). It may be worth getting some of the fermented grape-juice that seems quite popular out here – even though they sell it in plastic bottles… We also need to get some meat & veg to last us a few days because we may anchor at Ouessant before crossing or go straight to the Scillies ( not sure yet ).
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