Biscay Brilliance 23 November 2007

So we have been in France now for 5 weeks and while we were originally in no rush to get going, everyone’s insistence that Biscay is not somewhere you want to be in November has now made us more and more anxious to get going, adding to the frustrations of getting the boat commissioning and repairs completed in a timely fashion. We were assured that the boat would float off the slip at lunchtime so we again engaged the skipper / crew, Damian and Morgane of Flat Earth Sailing to meet us on board at the pontoon at 12:00 Friday with the aim to load and leave. This time everything went to plan and by 15:30 we were at the fuel dock for my first experience in purchasing 400l of diesel – not cheap…… but given that Karen and I no longer spend $130 a week on petrol for my car I suppose it is not bad. Whilst we were refuelling a large racing trimaran (it was red and if I was truly a sailor I could tell you who it was) went past – very impressive and I would imagine at least 5x faster than Where II with our friend, Yann aboard another boat with the press photographers. By the time we were ready to leave Yann had docked and came to say goodbye with news that he had passed his exams and would try and catch up with us in the Med.

At 15:50 we slipped lines and departed Les Sables d’Olonne –it was a sight that I am sure a few people that we had said goodbye to a number of times did not truly believe would happen and our new life began. It began smoothly in force 3 NE and slight seas, but by 1800hrs we had 1 reef in both the main and the genoa with the wind peaking at Force 7 (near gale) by 2200.

During this wind we also had a game of cat and mouse with a fishing boat that seemed hell bent on tagging us no matter which way we turned, we dropped the sails completely (with some manual assistance as the cars were a bit sticky to say the least. Karen’s idea of not yelling at one another on the boat was quickly thrown out the window as under these conditions – there seemed no other options.

Through out the chilly night and next day the winds maintained a 5-7 and the seas build to moderate. (I will quote Sailing For Dummies here in describing Force 7 – “ Only for skilled sailors on well–prepared boats. Staying dry is impossible; Lunch is all wet”). This all seemed manageable to both Karen and I as Where II made this feel not so bad with one exception. Morgane’s cooking had been spoken of by a number of people, but little did I imagine that I would spend 20minutes or so at the back scoop after just one mouthful. I was seriously seasick! All I could think of was 5years of this I don’t think so!  Well after I had finished with that task, I sat back down and finished most of the meal – reminds me of university for some reason.

By 0600 on Sunday this had all turned around and we were again on a flat sea with no wind which lasted until 2000 that night. Morgane notes in the log at 1500 that she had spotted a whale – but it was funny that it was only when she was alone on deck????
Winds started to pick up around 2200 and the trip around the corner began. We spotted the A Coruna Lighthouse – the oldest working lighthouse in the world built in Roman times.
We were following Damian on watch and at 0700 on Sunday just after we rounded the corner, I was laying awake in bed listening to the noises of the boat.

This is an experience I cannot fully explain but I will try. Firstly an electric motor and propeller is under each of the stern cabin beds. In addition the generator is next to our cabin – well insulated but another noise source. Then you have the noise of the water over the hull and probably most frightening at this stage was the noise of the waves crashing against the boat. The sounds of these combined you would think would not be melodic but not true, apart from the crashing wave, the rest combine to form an eerie sound, and in this instance I could hear Nick Cave resonating with one of the songs off the Orpheus Blues CD. The waves and this did have me freaked as I went to take over the helm from Damian, particularly when I saw the view from our bedroom window – why could I see the starboard keel???

And I did have to take over the helm – It was blowing Force 8 (Gale and as described by SFD – “Time to head home no matter who you are”) and rough seas 4-5m as we approached Finnestere. So I took over the helm and started to surf down the wave and manage the boat through the rough seas. No easy task and one I am not sure I got right every time as the waves hit the side of the boat. The dolphins did however join me to make sure I didn’t stuff it up to much….

During this period of rough seas Karen had taken to walking out into the cockpit backwards as the waves look enormous as you look out the back of the boat – you are sure they are going to crash over the transom and flood the boat – needless to say this doesn’t happen so walking out backwards allayed this rational (well we Karen thinks so) fear.
The wind and seas moderated only slightly for the rest of the trip until about 1400 on Sunday when we tried to put the sails up again, but as we did, we found ourselves preparing to put the 3rd reef in again as the wind picked back up, but then the top two cars became unattached so we dropped them again, This was not so bad as it hit 7 again so we were glad to have them down. But in total we sailed only about 7 hours of this trip.
Karen took over the helm from me as we were approaching the entrance to the Rio in which Baionna lay. She was talking to Damian when I walked out of the saloon to see a very, very large fast liner starting to broadside and turn to avoid us – the man at the helm had blue eyes……. Luckily it managed to avoid us, but it had come from the horizon to so close in under 10 min so you can see how fast things change.

We tied up at Baiona marina at 1900 after travelling a total of 456 nautical miles, averaging 6.1 knot with most of that under motor. We used 4.6l of diesel per hour the generator was running and averaged 1.5 NM per litre for those that are interested. Here’s the best bit though. The maximum wind speed was 38knot, and the Raymarine said our maximum speed was 50 knots for the trip with an average speed of 79 knots!!!!! Can any one tell me how this is possible unless we passed through Bermuda!
After tying up, we found the showers and made for a local restaurant El Tunnel where we enjoyed fine wine and good food before heading to D’sastre for a few drinks and back to the boat for a few more until someone responsible suggested bed at 0500 Monday morning. Next morning (just) Morgane and Damian left us to our own devices and headed back to Les Sables.