July 12

6am rise- still dark. Back to bed for half an hour! None of the buoys are lit in the Gulf so we weren’t going to risk leaving in poor light. As the windlass is broken we have to improvise with the electric winch, primary winch and chain snubber. The system works well, I guess if we were in deeper water it’d be a pain but as it’s only 3m deep it’s good.

The route out through the islands was a circuitous one through multiple swirling whirlpools as the tide ripped out through the narrow gaps between islands on it’s twice daily trip out of the Gulf. There were guys standing on the bow of their fishing boats going sideways in the rush of ebbing water happily casting their lines. Meanwhile we were hanging on tight and glad to be wearing lifejackets: many of them weren’t! when the SOG is 10kn plus just because of the tide it’s quite alarming.

Needless to say, it woke us up and with a quick fuel stop in Cruesty which is at the exit point of the Golfe du Morbihan, we were set for a full day sail to Ile d’Yeu. The journey was a little over 60nm  and we arrived at 17.30. It was super crowded with boats rafted up all over and as the harbour guy took us deeper into the marina we were looking astonished to find ourselves directed to raft outside of two boats one of which was Believe! Neither of us could quite believe the co-incidence despite the fact we are travelling similar routes.

A trip up the capitainerie went very well as we discovered that being rafted outside of two boats you get a discount on your mooring fees- it was about Euro 34 in the end! Showers and supper set us up for a walk into town with Rick, Julie, Tom & Nicky from Believe and delicious ice creams.  Followed by a nightcap of Paddy (thanks to Willi who hid the bottle on board!!).

July 13

The town of Port Joinville is populated by bicycles and the island a great place to cycle. As Believe untied and set off at 11am we were able to get ashore to the poissonerie to join the very long queue for the renowned Ile d’Yeu tuna, clams and crevettes. The market was also open so fresh bread and salad. It’ such a great way to shop as all the produce is fresh, not packaged in multiple layers and sold by really lovely people.

With lunch made we set off on our bikes for what ended up as over 20km ride (which for us is quite long!). The island is very Mediterranean with whitewashed cottages, terracotta roofs and brightly painted shutters and the most glorious gardens again. The cycle route purely for bikes so we spent very little time on the paved road which is great and encountered many large groups of cyclists doing just as we were. We visited Le vieux chateau built in XVIth century to protect the island, some lovely beaches – a great place to explore. Made it bak to the boat around 5.30pm as another boat was directed to tie up along side us- Jean Marie and Marilynne on their beneteau which they have only sailed for 4 days!! A brand new boat to them and they are heading down to Ibiza. We traded details after a chat as our routes were going to be similar and they too were leaving for La Rochelle the following morning at 8am.

It had been a long and fun day so just as we were getting ready for bed we noticed that there were lots of people walking along the breakwater beside us – the town had been buzzing all evening with live music and arching bands etc. Then all of a sudden we were in the thick of an amazing firework display that just went on and on. It was fabulous!

July 14
60nm sail to La Rochelle

8am depart, main up just outside harbour and off we go. Forecast for light force 3 breeze which was good. It didn’t however materialise so we motor sailed the whole way which is pretty painful when you anticipate being able to sail. Nonetheless it was a productive day- got through a whole load of paper work including old sailing magazines that had been waiting to be read before being discarded! Sun was shining so it was ok. About an hour out of La Rochelle the wind piped up and we sailed the last bit into the marine. Minimes marina is HUGE. This is a recurring theme in these notes about the places we have visited- there are an astonishing number of boats in France but this place must have had at least 3000!!

Dropping the main is usually a calm and quick action but today it came down with an almighty crash- the boom vang had slipped so the boom hit  the ridge of the conservatory. We have a very fancy boom vang made by Selden, fitted by a rigger which after close investigation we found that he had drilled only one of the two bolt holes that hold the top of the vang onto the boom. We’ve been lolloping around in very sloppy seas on this trip and the boom has been ‘wanging’ about to the point of driving all of us, the Captain in particular, crazy. It seems this constant movement must have  loosened the one bolt that was properly fitted and made the other one slip. It’s lucky neither bolts got lost and nothing got bent. Another job to add to the list: find new longer bolt, drill hole and secure. Then review the whole set up for a heavier duty fix in the winter.

We were given a berth quite near the entrance to the marina which was easy to get to on our bikes and about a fifteen minute ride from town. I knew that Blew Beyond had headed for La Rochelle a few days before us so touched based with them and they were still there and expecting to be so for a few more days. We hooked up with them on the river bank along with hoards of other people to watch or rather listen to the concert which was in the big stadium they’d built in town and wait for Bastille Day fireworks. Jonny Halliday, well know ageing French rocker was the headline act and played for hours……. We gave up waiting for the fireworks and headed back to Mel & James’s boat just in time for the start of a half hour display- we had ringside seats with an unencumbered view: perfect!! And enjoyed Mel’s home made damson gin as a night cap. A fun end to the day.

July 15

Boat work: we took the windlass apart again and thought we’d solved the problem as it worked when we tested it remotely. Sadly it doesn’t work under load and  needs to come out once more and for us to get right into the guts. It’s very likely a pin holding the gear onto the axle that is causing the trouble, we probably should have gone that deep this time but actually think there was another problem that we solved which was masking this inner non-working part.

Having failed on that front we tackled a long term issue which was trying to find where the leak in the forward water tanks was coming from. We haven’t been using them at all since the boat left Inverness: we didn’t  need copious amounts of water and wanted to find the source of the problem before filling them and as we have family coming in the next few weeks need to resolve it once and for all.

Like all of these jobs, getting to the guts of the problem is easier said than done. Whoever fitted these tanks (they are relatively new) plugged all the screw heads so we had to drill out the plugs before we could remove the base of the bottom bunk to get to the tank- I think this was one reason why we’d not tried to find out what the problem was because it took ages to get to the tanks. Anyhow, once in the issue became clear, the top of one of the tanks wasn’t secure because the ten washers keeping the bolts water tight were no longer working. They were proper plumbers reddish fabric washers and had disintegrated. Where we were going to find these in La Rochelle was the next question but one we decided to wait to tackle because by the end of this activity we felt a little like we’d lost the will to live: it was 5pm and boat jobs were all we’d been doing. We’d made a dinner date with Mel & James so hopped on our bikes for a short tour of the town and the huge number of chandleries to find the bolt for the boom and possible washers.

On our mini tour we saw Believe again who had pulled in earlier in the day & said we’d meet for ice cream later! Dinner in town was delicious and very good value. We haven’t eaten out a lot as marina fees and eating out bites into the budget quite severely. It was great to have a feast cooked by someone else especially after a frustrating day on the work front! We all have the same aim : to cross the northern Spain so are biding our time for the right weather window. It’s been looking likely Friday would be good although as the week progresses the wind lightens but is still from NNE.

July 16

With more time in the marina we know we are able to deal with the jobs: trip to the laundry; a bit of food shopping and finish fixing the leak in the forward water tanks. All of this was achieved, it was a prefect laundry drying, deck cleaning, water tank cleaning & testing, deflate the dinghy for the crossing and get ship shape kind of day. Topped of with a short early evening visit with Mel & James, who had friends join them for two weeks. We said we’d see them at the fuel dock at 8am the next morning.

July 17-19

8.45 left the fuel dock, Jean Marie on board Conconne was also fuelling up which was a great surprise. He had sent us an email to say  he was planning to cross as well but we hadn’t seen them. So that was a great surprise and we left the marina with them in our sights and kept in radio contact for most of the day.

0915 SW 9.5kn full sail. Not the wind we hoped for but it was forecast to switch to NNE by midday. We had conferred with Jean Marie who sent us a waypoint that was approx. halfway to Gijon (pronounced He-hon as far as I can tell) as that was his planned destination. Blew Beyond were aiming to go further west to Ribadeo so we had different trajectories.

We managed a decent amount of sailing. The first 24 hours were pretty uneventful although halfway through the night we lost sight of Conconne who were behind us and there were great lightening storms to the north, east and south east.

Daylight brought us to an astonishing number of fishing boats all clustered in one very deep area. There were at least 30, luckily we passed the bulk of them without having to change course although later in the day we found ourselves in the midst of a fleet and had to duck and dive to get behind everyone. I think they were fishing for tuna. We saw multiple fish, they were swimming along side of us and some would come jumping in shoals. We’re not experts as you’ll know form our Norwegian exploits but decided after some discussion that we may as well try and catch something. Searching  and finding  the rod was the first challenge, second was what lure to use and what technique. A combination of haveay shiny lure and feathery fluttery lure were cast over the side and eventually tied onto the radar arch as nothing was biting. Patience is the name of the game I think.

In the meantime, we were visited by a whale which surfaced and blew just a few boat lengths away and then a little further away. This of course was extremely exciting. The Captain revealed he had heard that noise in the night and thought it was possibly a whale but wasn’t sure.  Having an over active imagination, it seemed prudent to bring the fishing lines in as quickly as possible!

Then about an hour later we saw more blowing as a whale or perhaps more than one came past us. It was very exciting. Having reset the fishing lines, I realized there was some pull on one so reeled it in whilst the Captain slept, deciding that if it was a good size fish I’d call for help but would wake him before hand. It proved to be the right decision as we’d caught a black plastic sack and some seaweed. Tragic. Not to be outdone we cast the line again as we could still see tons of fish swimming alongside us, next bite turned out to be two white plastic sacks. It was a sad day for us to witness the detritous that is in the ocean. Although I suppose a happy time as we left all those lovely big fish alone swimming alongside of us!

Another night, no moon and weary eyes were saved by what sounded like something falling in the water. As I looked over the port rail I realised we’d been joined by dolphins. There must have been about 4 or 5, who came really close alongside at high speed. It was very dark so you could just take out their shapes but they stayed with us for about 20 minutes. I can’t wait for an accompaniment in daylight that we can all enjoy. This was a great relief and break in the watch as we approached Gijon at around 6am. We were tied up alongside by 7am and asleep shortly after. Blew Beyond and Believe were both in the marina.

10.30am knock, knock, knock followed by a voice saying “customs” and someone boarding the boat. He was a very nice chap, came on board examined our papers, passports etc and gave us clearance which we will now be able to use all through Spain.

It was a lucky thing Mr Customs/Immigration woke us so we could get going and enjoy the glorious sunny day. As we approached the land in the small hours it had a very different smell and we both said, it smells like Spain. It’s pretty exciting to have the boat so much closer to home now. Whilst we still have miles to go we are now only one country away from Portugal!

Up to the marina office, we asked to move to a longer pontoon (we were on a 10 metre pontoon which left our rear end hanging off the end!) and they put us next to Rick & Julie, Believe. It turns out Blew Beyond had left between the time we arrived and woke up, they’d refueled and then set off to Ribadeo I think. We shared stories with Rick & Julie and then set off to find brunch and explore. It’s an attractive town and has three beaches, the biggest is a couple of miles long and was jam packed with sunbathers and frolickers! It was a perfect beach Sunday, great for a bike ride along the coast and general explore of the town. There’s also a big industrial port and apparently they mine boxite in the mountains behind.

Once back at the boat we met more English sailors who were friends of Believe, they hadn’t expected to see these people so it was a pleasant surprise for them. It’s a small world. 

July 20

A late departure after some Monday morning business/admin we went all of 10 miles in very light NE breeze with the code zero pottering along at 3kn. It was a perfect speed for the distance. The conditions were ideal for dropping anchor in a bay off Luanco. The beach was full and there were people jumping from the breakwater and generally having a good time. It was hot and sunny and merited the first swim off the boat for me!! The Captain donned goggles, snorkel and flippers (purchase in France) to inspect the bottom of the boat and clean it. One thing we have noticed when we are stationary is this peculiar fizzing sound. It trouble the Captain so much the other night that he was up for an hour (apparently) taking up floor boards and the engine cover to see if we had some problem with the keep or hull. It turns out in the warmer water there is a lot of activity under water organisms. At night it actually can sound like you are sleeping in a boiling saucepan. It’s intriguing how noisy it is but given the amount of sea life we have seen (fish etc) it is not surprising.

It was a good anchorage and calm night.

July 21

7am rise and departure shortly after for Ribadeo. Overcast, drizzly and foggy with no wind. Another day for the engine. It was meant to be F3 from the east byt actually what wind we did have was on the nose from the SW.

At 11am we had a call from s/v Conconne, Jean Marie was also on his way to Ribadeo so we agreed we’d see them later. Then about an hour later we received another call on the radio: Jean Marie had entangled himself in a fishing net which was around his prop. We got his co-ordinates and stood by to head back towards him : he was over 7nm away so it would have taken over an hour to reach him. In the meantime, another French boat must have heard our conversation on the radio as they were much closer and went to his aid. Remarkably they had a diver on board who was able to free his prop and set him on his way. We were reminded of our horrible experience on Norway with fishing nets and were anxious to hear how he got on. He was not close to any convenient port so it could have been a disaster. We hope we’ll now see them in the evening in the marina!

July 3rd- 10th

July 3rd
After a couple of nights on the pontoon we decided to head up the River Odet which is navigable for quite a distance (not all the way to Quimper). Passing Château Kérouzin which was described in Frank Cowper’s Sailing Tours written in 1894 as a ‘comfortable looking white house” – it looks like it may be a hotel now and the second Château Kerauren which was apparently ‘a new and rather stuck up looking château’! there are numerous moorings on the river and all the anchorages seemed to be populated by these. It makes dropping the hook much more challenging. The river tour was good and countryside stunning: the only oddity was when we saw the river police gathered on the shore and the Captain said they were probably looking for dead bodies and a view from the binos revealed this was exactly what they were looking at…

We refocused and decided where to set the anchor for the night- a perfect place which was made even better by the fact that a Hylas 49’ motored by and then chose to anchor very close by. Any of you who know about our boat ill know there are very few in Europe (we saw the three 47’ -49’ that were on the market 5 years ago) so seeing another Hylas is very exciting.  We blew up the dinghy, attached the outboard and went for a tour of neighbouring boats including s/v Believe owned by Rick and Julie who have sailed a similar route to us in the Baltic and Norway : they very kindly invited us aboard once we’d circled them a few times and waved!!!

It almost doesn’t need to be said but we have friends n common, including Dink & Ginger of Alchemy.

July 4th

We decided to head out to the Iles de Glenan (this mystifies me because if they are Iles they should be des Glenan or is that because Glenan is singular they are de?). It was a champagne sailing day- beautiful  WSW breeze. Iles de Glenan is an archipelago which is described as the Caribbean of the Atlantic French coast. We were pretty excited; the wind wasn’t ideal for an overnight stay so we decided anchoring for lunch as the best option. It was clear blue water and a sandy bottom- lunch follow by a row ashore and explore before upping anchor and a few hours sail into Concarneau which has a walled old city approached by drawbridge!!!

We had a fabulous evening with live music in the old city and live music in one of the local bars. A great stopping point- the marina is a tight fit and we were happy to have arrived in decent time. There are SOOOOOOOOOO many boats here- we know that France is a big sailing nation but honestly we have never seen so many boats on moorings, up rivers, in marinas. They deserve to be called a nation of sailors.

July 5th

Ile de Groix, Port Tudy

We hit the early tide from Concarneau at midday- after a walk around town and trip the  boulangerie, boucherie and Halles with the best moules sold by a real Breton poissonerie wearing his red hat!! Yes, we know it was for the tourists but he was a great guy, humoured us and gave us the perfect recipe for home cooked moules. €4.50/kg is pretty good  for an evening meal!! 500g per person is plenty. Butter, shallots, 2 glasses of white wine, parsley add a drop of crème fraich at the last  minute just as serving. Yum scrum!! I just jumped ahead to the evening meal without describing the day!

Entering Port Tudy is tight and busy, there was a big boat race just outside the harbor entrance so we wanted to keep clear despite our years of racing in the Solent and dealing with cruisers sailing right through the race course, we felt we should try and keep clear as they rounded the leeward mark heading back to Lorient.

Race course dealt with, next challenge the ferry leaving the harbor- bearing in mind the entrance is not big enough for us and the ferry. Hang out for a while as it moves away. The options for mooring n the harbor are fore and aft mooring buoys or alongside (having spent multiple euros in marinas we were very keen to go for the mooring buoys option). All lines and fenders on both sides we were ready to go as we manouevred into a mid section spot alongside a 49’ Oyster. The young fellow from the captainerie directed us and took our forward mooring lines as we bulldozed into position. I say bulldozed because we are a big heavy boat and many of the others around are newer a less substantial vessels. At least next to the big blue oyster we knew we’d be in good company. The owners of Blew Beyond were not on board but watching from ashore, as we found out later. Not much they could have done about it anyway!!! Some of these spaces and moorings are good challenges for the shorthanded sailor. Our fearless Captain manages his crew and vessel exceptionally well so we all feel in control right up to the minute we have taken our life jacket off and cracked open a well deserved beer and as you may have guessed- moules for supper.

Port Tudy is a sweet little harbor- Ile de Groix beckoned the next day . Fold up bikes were loaded onto the dinghy- I wish I had a picture of this exercise. My brand spanking new bike folded in the bow and the Captain’s now slightly rusty vehicle across the stern we rowed to the pontoon clambered up the ladder on th wharf with bikes and set off on a day adventure to white sandy beaches. It as loads fo fun. The bikes are fantastic- Georgie can attest to the fun we had getting ashore and exploring in land a little way. We don’t go huge distances, they are 20” wheel fold up bikes so the journey is a little limited. We did find the Grande Sable Rouge and picniced in our bare feet and paddled in the sea. A glorious day. The ride as through back roads with delightful cottages and splendid gardens. I think we are lucky to be here at this time of year as all the gardens are in full bloom (I’m reminded of our wonderful Cowes garden at this time of year).

Back to the harbor and the tide is completely out- to the point that the bikes are not being carried down the precarious ladder. I have never been a mountaineer and stepping off the edge of the very firm ground ashore to climb down a 4 meter ladder doesn’t really instill confidence. The words of advice are
“step over and don’t look down”

We came back for the bikes closer high tide some 4 hours later….

In the interim we had met with Melanie and James on Blew Beyond who are sailing across the Atlantic in November with the ARC. It was great to meet with them and share sailing stories, we hope our paths will cross as we are heading in the same direction in the next few weeks before they head to the Canaries. The evening was very special as we were treated to a concert of accordion playing, fiddle, violin, guitar tin whistle and harmonica. It was a real treat, started b a French group- the accordion player was a 16 year old girl. Another Irish boat joined in and it almost became a play off between them. The Irish boat was a family of four each playing an instrument and they were very very good, but the French group had a mix of musicians from a couple of boats and in the end everyone played together. It was a real treat.

July 7th

We had decided we’d head out early next morning with the early high tide. Cloud and drizzle accompanied us and we untied and reversed out alongside a vey anxious Frenchman. It was possible too early for him or too close for comfort.

The weather did as promised and blew up to 20kn from the NW making a bumpy ride and foul weather- big rain. We were headed for Belle Isle, Sauzon in the north is meant to be a picture postcard place but not good for the wind direction so we continued down to Le Palais. We planned to anchor outside the harbor. This was thrown out when we found the area we expected to drop anchor was populated by mooring buoys- something we have found in many places. The ICC cruising guides can’t keep up with the changes and added buoys, it is frankly a real problem because you anticipate being able to drop anchor and its not possible.

We had the worst night ever on a mooring buoy laid for the vedettes outside the harbour- definitely not our best decision. Ashore in Le Palais there is a Citadel and an attractive town. The rain had stopped and sun was shining but it was still windy. Wind and tide contributed to the ghastly night!

July 8th

At 6am we were ready to leave. Wind had picked up and was gusting 23-25kn. Our target was the Bay of Quiberon to wait to get into the Gulf of Morbihan.

The options were Cruesty (a three basin marina with little soul) or La Trinité- (a well known yachting centre). We opted for the latter and squeezed in alongside on a finger pier with the help of a super kind English couple, Richard and Cath s/v Wild Rover. A few hours snooze set us straight for the day and we felt fully recovered from the ghastly night we had just had.

La Trinité sur Mer is a great yachting centre. There were two huge trimarans based there: Mirabaud and Sodebo as well as more boats than you can ever imagine in one place. Again it is astounding to see so many boats. Throughout the  day it continued to blow, actually howl! We were pretty happy to be ashore doing laundry and errands. The forecast was for much lighter winds and clear skies so we made plans to leave with Wild Rover at 6am so as to benefit from the tide, getting in and out of many of the marinas is tide dependent, and also to get the tide right to go into the Gulf du Morbihan. The tidal streams can run up to 9.5kn in the pinch points in the Gulf.

July 9th-11th

The journey into the Gulf was fab. Luckily there was little wind and we motored through some of the strongest tides and whirl pools at speed but safe and sound. As we’d left so early we had to drop anchor for a few hours round the back of one of the many tiny islands to wait for the swing bridge at Vannes to open at 11.30am. It was a perfect place to rest although frustratingly our windlass broke for the fourth time in the time we’ve had Onegin. We followed hot on the heels of Wild Rover and got to the bridge just as boats were streaming out: perfect timing. It is the first Winnie the Pooh moment we’ve had on this trip. The red and green marks are very close together an windy, and we had zero water under the keel according to the depth sounder (lucky for Willi’s calibration margin of error)!

We tried to repair the windlass to no avail but have worked out a system that means we can use it until we get a replacement. Call into Vetus in the UK who need to speak with New Zealand…. Not a quick fix. So sight seeing instead.

Vannes is the most delightful walled medieval city. Enchanting and magical. We’re very happy to have made it here.  Tour de France preparations all over the city. Saw s/v Believe again as Rick & Julie were about to head off on their next stage of thei journey south. Took our bikes out for a ride. Had Richard and Cath over for a thank you drink- fun to learn more about them. Saturday market all through the town, tons of food stalls and locals out shopping. Learned how to BBQ oysters too! Yum. Put them on the BBQ, turn them a couple of times until they pop open. Lemon juice, butter and pepper. This visit was a real high spot for us

Crosshaven - France June 2015

Arrived at 7pm to be greeted by Georgie who had flown into Cork earlier in the day. Fantastic to see her and great to have had help provisioning as we planned to leave early the next morning.

Various jobs had been done in our absence, including holes drilled in the radar arch to run wires into; repairing the outboard, which needed a new carburetor and a replacement halyard diverter for the stay sail.

Supper from the local chipper: Chish & Fips. A chance to catch up with some of Georgie’s news.

Forecast F4- 3 or less mainly southerly. Vis Good, sea moderate.

24th June 07.30 departure

Target destination: Isles of Scilly as a good stopping point 24 hours into the journey; weather was fair and forecast good to take us there. Motored for the first few hours. 10:30 turned engine off for a smooth sail. Winds lightened into the evening so we powered up again and ran the engine for a few hours. During supper there was a whirring sound which we were unsure of followed some half an hour later by a strong odd burning smell. Turned off the engine as we were making good progress under sail. Big mistake.

Next time we wanted to power up, nothing happened. Not a squeak, not a dicky bird. Nothing, rien, nada. Damn, bother and blast.

After about an hour of diagnostics we realised that we weren’t going to be able to override the problem, which we’d figured was the starter motor. The Boat Owner’s Bible states “burnt out starter motor has a distinctive smell”. 01:00 Thursday, call to Coastguard to tell them and warn them we’d be  crossing TSS and making landfall without engine.

The next 18 or more hours were very slow as the wind almost died and we battled the tide, but thanks to the code zero we made decent headway. Conditions would have perfect for the Isles of Scilly ,but not without an engine. So our second attempt at going there was scuppered. The last time was five years ago when we made it to Falmouth and stayed for three days due to gales. Then had to turn around and sail back to Cowes, slowly and enjoyably, but  clearly it is a destination we are not bound for.

On the approach to Falmouth we had a eureka moment: by entering Falmouth harbor we had sailed round Britain via Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Norway, Shetland Islands, Orkneys, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland!!!  It was great to feel we’d achieved such a thing! The hours of contemplation on our way past Lands End and Lizard Point had given us a chance to ensure the local diesel mechanic was lined up to come to the boat with the right parts. He was fantastic and got us all sorted as well as answering a couple of other questions. Happy to pass on Dave the Diesel Mechanic’s  details if you find yourself in Falmouth and in need.

The tying up alongside without power was a small challenge that we managed to get through with a couple of minor mishaps. Note to self: wear gloves when leaping ashore from a 14 tonne boat; and despite taking of life lines the darned crotch straps that are meant to save you when you fall in get caught on the stanchions (some readers will know about this). Sadly Georgie ended up in the drink because of this problem and her phone spent the next three days in rice. This prompted all sorts of silly comments including:

“what sort of dish will we have with the telephone rice?”

“Dial a curry with a side dish of chips and apps”

I have to believe there are reasons why things happen . As well as achieving ‘round Britain’ we were absolutely completely thrilled to find that Andrew & Julia Dallas on their Oyster 56, Hullabaloo, had tied up behind us whilst we had our heads in the engine. What a great surprise as it made the whole starter motor debacle worth while. We were expecting to see them on board in Lisbon in August! Needless to say our accidental pit-stop ended up being lots of fun!

Back on the road, crossing to L’Aber Wra’ch we had an uneventful journey although apparently there was quite a lot of traffic at one point. This followed my comment that I thought crossing the channel was meant to be difficult with lots of vessels to watch out for: where were they all? Georgie and the Captain felt the only way to prove what I missed whilst down below snoozing was to take a photo of the AIS signal. There was no disproving that. Piccadilly Circus at rush hour comes to mind….

L’Aber Wra’ch is well buoyed but not with fully lit buoys. Comments such as ‘wow look at those rocks’ were flying around at midnight. Luckily the night sky  was clear  with thousands of stars and a bright  half moon to light the way. There was quite a party ashore, but no-one to help take lines and no-where to go along side. We had to raft and with an offshore breeze it proved to be a challenge (captain took 6 tries in order to avid any bumps and or crew falling in as on previous docking in Falmouth – extra time but much appreciated by the crew). We stopped counting how many tries after a couple but the combination of trying to get a person aboard another boat whilst not taking out their stanchions with the bow sprit and the memory of falling in last time were in the back of or minds. We made it and fell into bed very, very late.

The next day was glorious, sunny and perfect for exploring the peninsula. With only one folding bike on board we were able to rent two other bikes and set off to cycle to the dunes and find lunch. It was a great bike ride, lots of hills, great views of the beaches and kites surfers and our first moules frites. Yum, delicious!

13:00, Georgie booked to take the ferry from Roscoff to Plymouth and then night train to London. A long journey but fairly easy. We were very sorry to see her go. It was fabulous fun to have her on board and was definitely not long enough.

13:40, Depart for Camaret sur Mer. Motor sailed in very light wind, needing to get to and through the “Chenal du Four” at the right tide. The potentially  huge overfalls and massive 5 knot current made the timing crucial – again as up in Scotland at the treacherous Sound of Luing and the Strait of Corryvreckan http://www.whirlpool-scotland.co.uk which we passed the worry at slack tide without any bouncing or turbulence and  arrived in Camaret at 21:00, to a beautiful evening. Moules frites again, this time much more expensive, but delicious none the less.

Next day was a full on day of re-provisioning and laundry. The pontoon for larger boats is a good walk away from the facilities so we hi-jacked a shopping trolley to carry back bottles of water, boxes of wine, beer, food, clean laundry and all. On the basis that we didn’t have electricity on the pontoon, the showers were Euro 2  and the harbor fee was Euro 33 we decided to move to  the bay adjacent to the marina and drop anchor. This was very exciting as it was the first time using the new “spade” https://www.spadeanchorusa.com  anchor. It held us very well in a night of thunder storms and rocking and rolling as the wind shifted to put us sideways to the incoming tide.


We were glad to have decided to wait until the next afternoon to make the next ‘danger’ area of Raz de Sein http://www.sailingalmanac.com/Almanac/Navigation/razdesein.html .  Again with warnings of picking the right tide, wind etc timing was crucial. Conditions were ideal with little wind and clear skies – last time we saw the Raz was in 2000 from ashore on one of the lay days of an Etchells regatta. We were sailing as a family with John Cronk and his children, in Douarnanez, Granny came too! It was a great regatta as we won prizes for which James and Charli gave a speech. Happy memories of old friends and happy times when we had a few days exploring the area and looking out to sea http://smallcraftadvisor.com/our-blog/?p=1798 .


France has been a journey of motor sailing with very light wind and strong tides. Across the bay of Audierne  made for Benodet or rather Sainte Marine, which is on the other side of the river to Benodet.  The almanac warns of ferocious ebb tide up to 4.5kn in springs: exactly where we are now! We arrived just as sun had gone down so there was still enough light to find a perfect spot on a hammer head.

July 2nd

Happy Anniversary!

 

Kilmore Quay – Cork Harbour (Crosshaven)

7am NW 14kn Pierre on Bla Svan left just before us, the harbour seal came to the surface to say goodbye. Seas calmed down after the tremendous wind we’d had over the past few days. Forecast was for NW-W 4-5 until around midday so we wanted to make decent headway on the 70nm trip to Cork. Wind shifted, was up down and switched to the west which slowed the journey. Big seas as we reached Ballycotton Bay made for slow progress. Entry into Cork Harbour was smooth and welcoming, we headed for Salve Marina which is next door to the Royal Cork YC in Crosshaven. 8.30pm arrival.

Next few days have been spent doing boat maintenance:

Sourcing the leak in the forepeak- likely through the side deck which had lifted slightly probably through ice/winter/freezing
Hooking up solar panels to batteries: how many times can the Captain go into the starboard lazarette in one day??
Sewing cowl covers to keep the seas completely out
Storm sail with McWilliams for alterations
Outboard in workshop for overhaul

Also have done a harbour tour, going up to Monkstown on the boat, bus ride into Cork city and back; been aghast at the size of the cruise ships that were in port; had dinner with Pierre and his new crew, Steffan a former private jet Pilate with many stories to tell; Guinness in Cronin’s pub; a trip to Kinsale with Willi’s friend Jim and Imelda; dinner at theirs; lunch in Cronin’s pub; Guinness at the Royal Cork YC

Leave Onegin in the hands of Salve Marina until we return for the next leg. Our thanks to Tim in Scotland and Willi throughout for all their help.

May 19, 2015

Dun Leary –Kilmore Quay

5.30am rise, check weather, triple check tides. Eventually depart just before 7am. Wind W F4-5.

One reef and both jibs set us on a great ride. Three hours of tide against to start with didn’t seem to impede our journey. 85 miles to the South East corner of Ireland. Speed hit 13kn for the second time, however once we reached Rosslare tide was pushing against again and slowed us tremendously. It was a struggle to point as high as we wanted, the area is littered with rocks and wrecks so we were anxious about going too far inshore, too close to the rocks, too close to the islands. We were told the day before that we had to be in by 8pm otherwise we wouldn’t get across the mouth of the harbour which had only 1.5m of water  at low tide and we draw 1.8m! In the end we made a safe journey in over St Patrick’s Bridge, which if you look at the chart you’ll see is a very narrow channel crossing an extended line of rock which runs from the mainland to the Saltee Islands. A bit nerve wracking but we were at the dock by 6.30pm- time to spare. Our lines were taken by a delightful young man, Angus, who keeps his boat in Kilmore Quay and generally sails single handed. He was in his very early twenties but clearly a competent sailor with lots of local knowledge. We invited him and his mum aboard for a beer and chat! we picked their brains and they quizzed the Captain on what boat to buy next.

Once they had gone we devoured supper and watched a few more episodes of Game of Thrones, Willi has managed to convert the Captain into an avid watcher. Then early to bed after a long and challenging day.

With the knowledge we had gained from Angus the night before, we felt well equipped to explore the village of Kilmore Quay. The choices for lunch were the ‘chipper’ or Kehoes Pub. We chose the pub as fish & chips for lunch seemed a bit too much! This turned out to be the best decision because the pub was also a museum of wrecks. In the 1970s a local man had started to dive and recover artifacts from the area, which are now housed in the pub. It was a really interesting building with great food!

Kilmore Quay is an active fishing marina with a many boats bringing in their catch to the packing factory just behind the harbour. Apparently Euro13m worth of fish come in via this marina. The village has a quaintness with it’s many thatched roofs: 15 at least.  As well as the tractor rally that drove through. Some 30 old tractors, many Massey Ferguson, all in great condition, trundled past. It was quite a bizarre sight.

It’s been blowing a strong south westerly for a few days so no-one is going anywhere. We’ve been joined by two single handers: one a Chinese fellow who was heading for France or Spain (not 100% sure which) to qualify for the mini transat. And Pierre, a Swede, who is heading for Spain and picking up crew in Cork. Yesterday, we took the bus to Wexford and had morning coffee in the Opera House: the building is very striking but seems a bit of an underused resource. Aside from the one week in October when they have the ‘renowned’ Wexford Festival the programme had only two or three events average a month. Nonetheless a stunning interior. We managed to make a 1 ½ hour walking tour of Wexford last approx. 4 ½ hours (there are three buses a day so our timing was dictated by this). The highlights of the tour were churches. It is safe to say we had reached our limit of churches by the end. It was a fun day and the same bus driver who’d delivered us took us home.

The forecast is better so we’ll be back on track tomorrow.

 

Inverness
Back to Onegin after the long winter layup. The pilot announced the weather to be not too bad for our arrival in Inverness. We stepped off the plane into a howling wind with the rain blowing sideways. What an exciting start to the trip!

Over the next few days, with a huge amount of help from Tim & Willi, we spent every second finishing up the outstanding jobs that had to wait until the boat was back in the water and the new radar arch installed. Ritchie the welder appeared a couple of times with his very large Doberman, Logan, to put the finishing touches on the arch and the boys installed the solar panels and put the wind gen back in place.

Jobs included:
Check new through hulls not leaking
Depth sounder activated
Mast head instruments fitted
Radar arch secured
Solar panels fitted
Wind gen re-installed
VHF radio replaced
Gas cylinders replaced
Ship stores replenished
Fold up bicycle recovered from winter storage
Main sail stack pack zip replaced and repairs done
Stow the sewing machine (first time it’s been on board but will be super handy)
House batteries replaced

Saturday 2nd May
Weather: Sun/cloud/clear/cold!
Ready for departure through Canal. Sea lock available for entry at 10.45. Radioed ahead and spoke with the Clachnaharry loch keeper. He was very happy we had announced ourselves as the boat ahead of us didn’t and he was very keen to let them and us know that not radioing ahead was very poor etiquette! He was a super nice guy and responsible for the first two locks at Clachnaharry and the swinging railway bridge. Once through these we had a 45 minute wait until the next swing bridge opened and the four flights of locks at Muirtown are entered. The locking process is relatively smooth and requires one driver and two donkeys. This led to various comments about silly asses and who did the donkey work. We worked out a system which worked very well leading the boat through.

2- 4th May
10 swinging bridges, 29 locks and 38 miles of lochs including Loch Ness.
Wind, sun, rain, snow.
There is a pecking order in the locks: big vessels first, private yachts and motor vessels and then the rental boats (driven by people who have little to no experience) luckily for us we were big enough to accompany a very large ocean going fishing boat: Proud Seahorse; a sleek renovated motor cruiser: Asyrian (or Asprin as we all called it); and a small rental motor cruiser driven by an Australian couple who warmed to us eventually after they’d realised that we had to move them and another motor cruiser when we reached Fort Augustus because they had all tied up with 10 feet between each boat. Leaving enough room for us in pieces but not as a whole 47’ boat! Yachts definitely have a different approach to going along side a pontoon.

The first stretch of banks along the canal are filled with rhododendrons just waiting to bloom, by the end of May they will surely be out and quite spectacular. The rivers that run alongside the canal are raging torrents as water pours down off the mountains and keeps the lochs filled with the water that feeds the locks which are all gravity fed. The only mechanical aspect is the hydraulics for closing the gates. We all marveled at the engineering feat, with the canal being built in the early 1800s.

We arrived at the western end, Neptune’s Stairs, ready to make the final descent at 8.30am and first lock and by the time we reached the Corpach Basin it was close to 11.00 the tide was turning against us and wind howling leaving us tied up and waiting for the early morning tide the following day. The upside of this was that we were in the sight of Ben Nevis which kindly emerged from its cloudy veil and also the Ben Nevis Distillery. If we couldn’t make it to Oban that day then a few miles walk to the outskirts of Fort William and a distillery tour were worthy activities. Add to this Inverlochy Castle which is en route: we had a fab day in the sun and made friends with Aspyrian.


Among the highlights of the canal:
The lock keeper who awarded gold stars to all wearing lifejackets.
The Loch Ness monster (see photo)
Canoers reminding us of Algonquin Park
Ben Nevis emerging


5th – 14th May
Corpach – Oban
Ominous skies and blowing 30kn from NW meant that our ride to Oban was fast: a new speed of 13kn was measured by the new instruments. We followed Aspyrian to Oban Marina which is their home port. The marina is on Kerrera Island accessible by a ten minute ferry ride to Oban.
All for drinks on board Onegin with Simon and Debbie of Aspyrian.
As the weather and tides worked against us, Tim decided he would leave the boat and head back to Devon. Loaded him up with various boat parts: old anchor and dinghy we waved him off. Sorry that he couldn’t stay.
Willi, Geoff, Bel : Dinner on Aspyrian.
A great surprise and treat of paella made with locally caught fish; a huge thanks to Debbie for this amazing meal. Look her up http://www.rhynie.net/rhynie-woman/. 
Oban - Jura
An early rise at 4am to catch the slack tide going through  the Sound of Luing: tales of overfalls and whirlpools put the fear into our brave captain! It was flat calm with an occasional whirl because our timing was perfect! Rain, hailstones and sunshine brought an amazing rainbow just ahead of the Sound. A journey of approx. 35NM we arrived at the Jura Distillery, picked up a mooring and pumped up the dinghy for the first time. Tried to start the outboard (sadly Logan and James’s work last season hadn’t held out) so the choice was to row. A good way of warming up! We did a tour of the distillery and then a half hour hike to the town hall which was the only location with wifi.
Jura- Ballycastle
Our next decision was whether to make the 40nm crossing to Northern Ireland or a short stop. The forecast was ideal for the journey to Ballycastle. Granny used to visit Ballycastle as a child with her grandfather who lived in Belfast! We were met by a delightful chap who took our lines and showed us around.
The big event in Ballycastle was Ireland Coastguard Games: where all coastguards in Ireland (North & south) send teams to take part. We hoped the seas were still manned as we’d never seen so many CGs in one place! This was our first chance for music- a couple of fiddles, guitar and flute were playing in one of the 13 local pubs! Lots of fun.
Between Jura and Ballycastle we had to make our decision about Atlantic coast or Irish Sea. Sadly the weather conditions which have ranged between gales to 2-3 forced our decision to go down the east coast.
Ballycastle – Bangor - Galway
40nm to Bangor, a great marina and highly recommended. Excellent facilities, 24 hour manned and reasonable access. This was a good stopping place for the next few days of foul weather.
Sligo-Galway
We hired a car and headed out to the west. Sligo and Drumcliffe, where Willi’s great, great grandfather is buried in the same church yard as WB Yeats. We had the best chowder in Sligo in the pouring rain and drove down to Galway. If you’ve never been there- go. Its delightful; a small pretty town steeped in history. We enjoyed our first ever Galway Hookers (delicious ale and boats); pub music and an open mike session. Willi saw a guy walking along with a guitar case:
“where should we go for music tonight”
“the Rushing Duck”
“the Russian Dove?
“yes the Roisin Dubh”

It took us a while to work out which building we were meant to go to after walking round the block three times….
We heard some great music. The next day was glorious: sun and clouds but again super windy. We were very glad to be onshore.
Howth-Pullbeg
Prepare for the next weather window to Dublin. It was a very windy ride, short chop waves on the nose but the forecast lightened through the day and we made it to Howth at 2am taking the last and seemingly smallest spot left in the marina. It was a welcome stop although very poorly buoyed, lucky for the sandy bottom at the harbor entrance and it being flat calm. The marina manager said in the morning when questioned over the access “come in daylight and it’s easy”.
Howth looked stunning but the crew decided being in the heart of Dublin would be more fun, so we motored in the channel with strict instructions from the VTS Dublin to stay close to the southern side of the channel. The container ships come constantly so there is loads of traffic.
We walked miles – into the center of Dublin, hooked up to an entertaining tour of Trinity College and the parliament building. A night in Temple Bar helped us find a great bar with a great band playing Irish music and covers. Loads of fun. Back to the boat by taxi, the wind was up again. It was like being in a drum overnight. The number of container ships that came in and out overnight added to the noise. So our challenge was to get to Dun Leary (there are multiple spellings and this is the phonetic one) and the Royal Irish YC in the morning where we had been offered a position on the club pontoon. Standing waves, 30kn breeze on the nose at the mouth of the harbour we made it slowly out at 1.5kn.
The RIYC is fabulous, we are very grateful to our friends Michael and Phyllis Boyd with whom we had dinner. It was great to catch up with them. 
If wifi permits we will update more frequently.

August 10-13

We remain in harbour as the forecast continues to deliver gale warnings in the sea areas around us. For entertainment we have emptied and cleaned out the aft fuel tank, cleaned out the aft holding tank (sounds worse than it was), finished our books, toured the Highland Park Distillery and toured the island by car including Stromness, Scapa Flow, the Italian Chapel and crossed the Churchill barriers. We drove as far south as we could and could see across the Pentland Firth to mainland Scotland. 

The Pier Art Gallery in Stromness is well worth a visit, it has contemporary art with a permanent collection of 21st century artworks, including Barbara Hepworth and a visiting exhibit. The building used to house the recruiting office for the Hudson’s Bay Company from 1836-1867 and is the base from which Orcadian Dr John Rae commenced his Arctic explorations. The Gallery has been very cleverly designed with award winning architecture linking the old buildings to new.

Listening eagerly for the next forecast and watching the grib files it looks like we may be on our way by Thursday 14th.

Decided to reverse the order so please go to the bottom and read up for older news in this section!


August 9

Luckliy we woke to hear the 7am forecast issued by Shetland CG. The low that was approaching had gathered momentum and was due to hit later in the day bringing gale force winds. We were able to motor (there was no wind) to Kirkwall covering the 20 miles in no time with the tide under us. The back eddies on the contour lines sped us along at a great rate! We reached Kirkwall ahead of the weather and tied up alongside safe and sound as the rain started. It is a lovely city, with a cathedral and many attractive narrow streets and all facilities. On checking the forecast at 1900, we recorded gales and severe storms in all the sea areas around us with the outlook for the next 24 hours being similarly bad.

On our way back to the boat in the pouring rain via Lidl we bumped into Mike who had also decided to come alongside in the marina. We made an arrangement to head out to the sailing club after supper which was full of the local football team who had won a big trophy match. The town was heaving with people as the County Show had been on that day (in the rain) and also met up with a fellow sailor, Peter from Newcastle, who was waiting for his crew to arrive to take the boat back south. A couple of pints followed by a whisky on board Onegin, we fell into bed around 1am with the wind howling and rain pelting.

August 8

7am departure for Orkney, forecast showing heavy weather approaching later in the week so we were keen to travel the 40 miles to the next destination and hope to get to Wick the following day. SE 20kn decreasing to 15. We were zipping along and got SOG of 10kn! Tide affect was definitely helping us speed along. We headed for Stronsay which on first sight was a very bleak and unappealing harbour where we had second thoughts and looked at continuing on to Kirkwall but for the tide and the fact we saw our friend Mike sailing in behind us, we would have. In the end we tied up alongside a very unfriendly looking pier but were approached by a couple of men who had been out sailing earlier that day, the older gentleman lives on the island and his son was visiting from southern England. His boat was a 14’ open traditional wooden boat in great condition. Mike, Geoff & I set off to find the shop and pub- success with the shop but the pub was closed with the promise of opening later on. We decided to go back to our respective boats, catch up on sleep and perhaps go to the pub later. Whilst I was snoozing, Geoff found out that the pub served great food so we went for a slap up meal of Orkney sirloin & fish & chips respectively. It was a delicious meal. Mike joined us for a pint afterwards. The locals were super friendly and chatty and our initial impression was changed immediately. Interestingly, there was only one person with a Scottish accent. The rest were regional accents from elsewhere in the UK. We were told that the Orkadians were like this, coming from all over. 

Next destination for us was going to be Wick, the forecast looked like the bad weather wasn’t going to hit for a few days and the coastguard forecast reflected this. We bid farewell to Mike who had a different plan and fell into bed.
August 7

The forecast suggested we should get going again as we have quite a few miles to cover to get to mainland Scotland. Our intention had been to go straight to Kirkwall, Orkney but decided to break the journey up and cover the miles in two separate sections stopping in North Haven, Fair Isle. The wind was WSW 25-30kn. We said farewell to Tim who was catching a ferry to Aberdeen the following day so stayed in a B&B in Lerwick. Departed 1100 arrived North Haven 1900.

There were two other yachts in the harbour one American, the other Dutch. The Dutch couple took our lines and we had a good chat with them. Shortly after our arrival the ferry came in and the place came alive. Cars came to meet the ferry and collect the deliveries that were held in a massive container that was crane lifted off the ferry. There were supplies for the local store and post for the local population of 70 people. As most of them dispersed a group of men seemed to be gathering in a nearby hut, within an hour we reckon that the whole male population of the island was gathered in this hut chatting and drinking beer. It was an odd phenomena but we didn’t feel we could intrude so were left not knowing why this happens. Is it a Friday regular gathering in the equivalent of the pub? As we didn’t explore anymore of the island we couldn’t find out.

Our social engagement was on board the Dutch boat along with Mike the American who is a single handed sailor (Sea Hawk). Jop and his partner have sailed in Fair Isle and Orkney many years so were able to tell us of some interesting spots. We were very happy to have stopped off as it was a glorious sunny evening and the island looked stunning. Sighted two seals in the bay multiple sheep and multiple birds.


August 6

We had decided to hire a car and tour the island. The drive down to the southern most point of mainland Shetland showed us the tree less landscape. Sumburgh Point lighthouse was our destination where there is a nature reserve. This was our first close up of puffins, Geoff and I were literally jumping up and down with excitement!! You will see from our photos how close we were able to get. The lighthouse also had an old radar base which was used to identify the Luftwaffe heading towards the WWII naval base at Scapa Flow and save the fleet. After such a great start to the day we drove a mile down the road: back across the airfield. The railway crossing signal is a familiar one but I have never had a traffic signal that tells me to stop when the lights are red because a plane is landing!!

Jarslhof was the next stop, an amazing archaeological find  on the site of the lairds house . This had been visible for years but the balance was unearthed during a sand storm in the 1880s. The dig has unearthed some 4000 years of history and is astonishingly well presented. We all were super impressed and came away reeling with information and marveling at how much knowledge had been gained about the way of life and building techniques.

We had been told of another pub that had free music, this had a very different feel to it. A younger crowd and the music was different. A couple of fiddles, an accordion, electric guitar and piano. The accordion seemed to overwhelm the rest of the instruments.


August 5

2am arrival in Lerwick. 46 hours. Shetland Coast guard were very welcoming and helpful.

The day brought glorious sunshine which meant we could dry out the soggy bits of the boat and warm our bodies. Having had seven on board I decided the two overflowing Ikea bags of laundry could go to a service wash and tracked down the local laundry in Lerwick, luckily I phoned as they didn’t have any water so couldn’t help. Plan B was to go to the yacht club and use the two machines they have. This should have been straightforward expect after loading them and plugging a couple of £s in each machine nothing was working, luckily I heard footsteps upstairs (it is a volunteer club so no-one is around) and a very helpful boiler repair man said the machines were temperamental and he called Anneliese who lives two minutes away. By the time she arrived the machines were working (brute force and thumping did the trick). I was very apologetic as she had to come over and wasn’t needed, she then made my day. “Oh don’t worry, why don’t you pop over when those two loads have finished as you’ve got at least three more to do and hang them on my washing line, I’m going out so I’ll leave my peg basket out for you” and proceeded to draw a map showing me how to get to her house.

I couldn’t believe it! I took the washing and hung it up and in a couple of hours it was dry. The rest went round the drier!!

In between laundry loads we explored the town, the Shetland Museum is fabulous. Very comprehensive and well presented. Highly recommended. On our travels round town we found out there was a Fiddling Frenzy throughout the week with concerts but free music in one of the local pubs.

As a birthday treat we went out for supper, in the local waterfront hotel which is in a time warp. We had an excellent meal though and wandered on to the pub for fiddle music. It was fantastic, three fiddles, two guitars, a banjo and a mandolin. Lots of fun.


August 3-4

4.45am departure. Slight rain and light wind to start with. Wing on wing to start with, then code zero.  Motoring for approx 10 hours. Wind filled in and we had 25kn SSE as forecast enabling us to reach on a course through oil rigs 

August 2

Deliberations about when to cross to Shetlands. Motored out to Runde in no wind and spent night.


August 1

Boat prep for trip to Shetlands and Crew flew home. Sorry to say goodbye.


July 31

Excellent beat up to Alesund in approx 20kn-25kn. Cloud cover and prospect of rain. Tied up alongside another couple of boats in the centre of town. Early birthday celebrations for Bel, balloons and cake which was fun. Followed by delcious chicken supper by James.


July 30

A slow start to the day and the rain cleared so we could head up to the nearest peak ; a mere 700 m through the trees to a great lookout. Rainbow across the fjord. Back to boat and onward to an anchorage about 15 miles away where we had decided to BBQ on the shore if we could. Idyllic spot , burgers & sausages, salad and smores. It was a great way to spend the last night at anchorage. No-one around except for us and a great BBQ.


July 29

An early morning start at around 9am to climb Romsdal peak to 981m, weather was clear on the hike to the top then as promised  the rain came in.  The trail has an incredible lookout point which is a platform extended out from the rocks – not for the faint hearted. I found the best way out was walking backwards before turning around to look at the stunning view.

Amazing hike, 2 hours up and about 1.5 hours down in the pouring rain. It is a well travelled trail with steps in places and clear markings but granite in the rain is precarious as is the route down through the trees to fjord level, aching legs at the end. We decided to rest for a few hours and then set of with the wind on the nose back out of the fjord, 20 miles to Vestnes.


July 28

Off the pier at 9.30 and another day of no wind. Perfect fishing conditions and ideal contour lines to linger over with the fishing rod. Geoff, Bel & Tim all up and at it and fish biting within minutes, the excitement got everyone up on deck and out of their sleepy haze: James & Sean were dispatching fish in their sleep and did an amazing job. Everyone caught something so we had plenty to do and more than enough supper.

The aim was to head into the Romsdal fjord towards Andesnes and we had great wind for this blowing right down the fjord around 8-10kn enabling us to fly the spinnaker the whole way in. It was a 25 mile sail in fabulous conditions and every turn we had to make into the fjord we managed to keep the wind behind us. Our spinnaker hasn’t had so much fun in a long time. Having read an article in PBO that stated it was impossible for the cruising sailor to keep the spinnaker flying through a jibe we decided to practice this manouvre over and over again to prove them wrong. We have the pictures to prove it!!


July 27

9am Flat calm.

After some consideration we amended the plan for the day, we were going to Grip which is a small group of islands north of Smola where there is a 16th century stave church. Instead we have chosen to go the distance around Hustavika: a notoriously bad spot if there is any kind of weather. The journey out from Hitra was a Winnie the Pooh style of navigation (for those who haven’t travelled in Sweden with us , we found ourselves in a number of tight spots where the nav marks were very close together and we felt we may get stuck and in the marinas there are many bow to moorings for boats that are much less beamy than Onegin).

As the sun shone and the seas were calm the conditions proved ideal. Tim spotted what looked like an orca: it was certainly black and white but a distance away so a little hard to identify. We also saw another niessa (sp?). The glassy seas offer some fantstaic opportunities for watching wildlife.

On deck Charli, James, Georgie & Sean took an exercise session. They were getting a bit stir crazy and managed to burn off some energy and heat themselves up in the blazing sun. Having tested the water temperature in 180m depth we decided that we’d head inshore to a spot close by enabling them to swim. This was a great success as we stopped the boat in about 15m and they were able to do circuits of diving in and climbing out for a while. This definitely took the edge off and everyone settled back down. The wind had filled in a little from the west so the code zero and main were hoisted and we made about 5.5kn in the light breeze for a couple of hours before the wind died again.

Destination was Bjornsund, 55miles from Hitra. On our journey north in May the mainland was shrouded in cloud as it was raining. Today was ideal to see what we had missed. You can see the Romsdal mountain range and further south the Sunnmore  alps. We arrived at 8.30pm and tied up alongside the pier that we had tied up on in May with Rolf. The island is stunning, the houses had summer occupants and the gardens looked lovely. After supper we took our disposable BBQ to the rocks and made smores (toasted marsh mallow, chocolate & digestives in place of graham crackers), thanks to Charli’s great planning. She had it all organized from Rorvik and all we needed was the perfect spot to light a BBQ. Delicious!! It was a calm night and perfect end to a long but fun day.

July 26

Sunshine first thing, left the captain snoozing as he had been on anchor watch through the night . James went ashore to untie stern line, wind had shifted to the east so we were not is such a fine position. Then Sean & James pulled up the anchor and we motored away all safe. Lots of kelp on the anchor as it came up. Destination Hitra, some 15 – 20 miles,  not enough wind for sails although we did try for the first hour. Then wind filled in and we could launch spinnaker again and the sun came out (it had disappeared for a while). Sean went up the mast, James followed. Before the main was up, then Charli went up. All took great pictures. A fab sail up to 7kn. Planning the route was a challenge, as there are many skerries around Hitra and Froya. Spinnaker dropped, main up we motored sailed through the islands to Kvenvaer on Hitra. Now tied up along side and preparing spag bol before going to the party at the pub with the local band!!! Geoff has continued with the repair of the wheel leather which is a slow process but very satisfying. Lots of book reading and relaxing by all.

The pub party didn’t happen in the end as they were charging NOK200/head to see the band who were playing in a tent that was visible from outside and definitely audible from the boat, we ended up having our own party on board with harmonicas and the eukele all being played along to the band.

Luckily we woke to hear the 7am forecast issued by Shetland CG. The low that was approaching had gathered momentum and was due to hit later in the day bringing gale force winds. We were able to motor (there was no wind) to Kirkwall covering the 20 miles in no time with the tide under us. The back eddies on the contour lines sped us along at a great rate! We reached Kirkwall ahead of the weather and tied up alongside safe and sound as the rain started. It is a lovely city, with a cathedral and many attractive narrow streets and all facilities. On checking the forecast at 1900, we recorded gales and severe storms in all the sea areas around us with the outlook for the next 24 hours being similarly bad.

On our way back to the boat in the pouring rain we bumped into Mike who had also decided to come alongside in the marina instead of anchoring out We made an arrangement to head out to the sailing club after supper. It was full of the local football team who had won a big trophy match with a whopping £600 kitty they were in full celebration mode. The town was heaving with people as the County Show had been on that day (in the rain) and also met up with a fellow sailor, Peter from Newcastle, who was waiting for his crew to arrive to take the boat back south. A couple of pints followed by a whisky on board Onegin, we fell into bed around 1am with the wind howling and rain pelting.

July 12/13

Anchorage by the small boat mooring buoys. A bit of road traffic. We saw people trolling for fish, and saw fish jumping so reckoned they were trying to catch salmon. Decided to try our hand at this when we pulled anchor and slowly motored out. Think the technique wasn’t quite right and should have added a small weight to the line to bring it just below the surface. Canny fish didn’t take our hook.

The anchorage we headed for next: Vagsvagen on Donna, had a great reach down to it with glorious sunshine. Also had the code zero up for some of the journey. All sails were quickly furled when we saw an overhead cable at the entry to the bay. None of our chart plotters/paper charts say what the height of the cable is which is very frustrating. As we motored very slowly to within binocular reading reach, we could see it said 23m at high water which meant we were clear. It is a bay with many different areas to anchor, we chose the SE bay where there was an old wreck up on the shore. On the way in we had spotted what looked like two porpoises but we subsequently found are small whales called ‘nissa’ (sp. Uncertain). A local fellow who came out for a chat on his boat told us that’s what they were. It was a really stunning spot.

July 13

Anchor up under sail, get away without the engine and then short tack out to the cable where we have to put the engine on to power through the narrowest spot. It is another glorious day and our lunch destination is Hjartoya where Geoff & I stopped on our way north. This time we were there on the hottest day of the year along with five other boats, ashore we found the Viking grave which dated to 500-800 AD where they had found remains of a man with fish, tools and a sheep. The settlement had a couple such graves. The hike was hot one so Geoff, Willi & Shirley all went for a swim. Shirley’s gasps of shock told me I was best placed manning the boat!

This was just a brief interlude in the days activities so we pulled up the anchor and set off another couple of miles toward Alstahaug. This bay was the home of Pedder Dass, a pastor and poet born in 1647. It is the site of the cathedral Journey out to the skerries and the UNESCO World Heritage Site. We hoped to see eider ducks in abundance. Followed the shallow, narrow track in and tied up alongside Gakka Mathus. Careful nav through the skerries. Just before arriving we stopped for fishing as Shirley wanted to try her hand and we were at a perfect contour line: after a few minutes she had snagged a cod and with a mixture of terror and excitement squealed for help!! It was a scrummy yummy dinner. Shirley’s first cod!! The proprietor of the restaurant appeared at some point in the evening, speaking o English we determined that we could stay on his dock but he thought we were very lucky to be there in the shallow water. If you want to eat at this restaurant you have to book in advance: he is not keen on last minute shows.  I think he thought that’s what we were but all we hoped for was somewhere safe to tie up! A little later as traditional Nordland boat immerged from behind one of he skerries carrying two couples who were visiting our restaurateur. Turned out they built their own Nordland boat and had built the one we had seen in Lovund a few days before and had given up their spot in Traena to our former neighbours

July 14

Hysvaer. We were not going to be leaving until at least midday due to the state of the tide. It is a remarkably isolated place with a few houses, a restaurant and quite a few eider houses where the ducks nest. The ferry stops on request, which apparently it did in the middle of the night (high tide) when Shirley saw it arrive. We saw two people painting a building when we arrived and in the morning saw three people go into a barn, some chain saw type noises and then the three came out to eat waffles at the restaurant (one of them was the proprietor).

July 15

Moyhamna

Arrived in overcast conditions after briefly stopping in Bronneysund to reprovision, first time we sailed right past and second time realised we hadn’t missed much.  It was an easy decision to continue on. The prospect of not being able to see the hole in the mountain was disappointing. We waited a little while and the skies cleared enough so we set off on the 3km hike to the mountain. As the rain had cleared there were lots of people out hiking up as well. We were happy to have been able to take Willi & Shirley up and also happy to have been able to go on another good hike.

July 16 –

Left in rain and poor visibility. No wind. Chose spot at Vennesund to tie up along side but too shallow in the harbour- ran aground as we entered so retraced our steps to find a perfect anchorage in the sound of Langoya. We had  a restful night and the following morning woke to a clear day.

July 17 –

Leka

Arrived  at 1pm in sun/cloud to an almost empty dock. Tied up alongside and readied ourselves for a day of activity. Decided the best option for the day would be to rent bikes and do a round trip cycle of the island. The bikes had either no gears or just one or two First destination was 11km away on south of island to see the cave drawings dating back to Bronze Age. We knew there was a guided tour at 2pm but left the marina at 1.30 so thought it unlikely we’d make it, arrived at the start of the hike up to the cave at 2.30pm. Made the hike up in 20 minutes just as a guide was unlocking the entry to the cave so were able to tag along. We were equipped with our own torches and as the guide spoke only in Norwegian we were unable to understand what was being said. We did however see the drawings- a remarkable sight. Snuck out before the end of the incomprehensible talk to find a rock for lunch and wait for the tour to get down ahead of us. Return bike ride was approx 11km round the other side of the island. We had a lot of fun teasing Geoff that we had paid 400NOK for the guided tour that we didn’t really get. He was fuming whilst Shirley convinced him that this had really happened. He cycled off ahead of the rest of us and took some persuading that in the end we were pulling his leg.

July 18

Rorvik

W 5-8kn code zero

Rorvik overcast but calm. Tied up alongside same pier as last time. Many more boats here than a month ago.

Willi & Shirley treated us to dinner at the Museum which we had been told was good food and is open until 2100. Excellent food, the chef takes great care to present a fabulous meal. We shared a fish soup, quire delicious. Main courses were halibut and salmon. Halibut served with pureed cauliflower, chorizo & figs was a fabulous mix of flavours: delicious!

W&S’s last night and we were very sorry to say goodbye after a great couple of weeks. We were told by a fellow sailor that it is unusual to be able to wear shorts for more than two days in the summer in Norway, so 14 days is unheard of!

Whilst packing up the boat we were delighted to see Per Tore & Gunn arrive on Lisa II, we had met them on our second day out of Rorvik going north as they were heading to Trondheim to visit family.

19 July

Early morning goodbye to W&S, then boat cleaning and prep for the next trip. The sun came out and we had a glorious day ahead of us, punctuated by some great socialising with Per Tore & Gunn who invited us on board for a glass of wine around 2pm! We chatted and heard about their great trip  and new grandchild (they now have seven) and then got back to boat work before returning for  few more stories and the most generous gift: a Norwegian sweater for Geoff!!! They are quite amazing, generous people with amusing tales and anecdotes. We really enjoyed seeing them again.

July 22

Full day of travel leaving London at 6.30am for an early flight from Gatwick. James, Charli, Georgie, Tim with us and Sean Hopkins (James’ friend) who met us at the airport. Three flights later we arrived in Rorvik at 5.30pm, a quick stop at the supermarket for fresh food then off the dock by 7pm heading towards Sorgjaslingan. This is an old historic fishing harbour that used to have an important role in cod fishing. It is a delightful harbour and a perfect spot for the first night out with the new crew. There were quite a few boats tied up on the floating pontoon and very little water so there wasn’t room for us. Just as we were looking at anchorage options and small boat came motoring towards us and offered advice on where to go- he told us to follow him which we did through a very narrow channel and tied up on our own private dock. Having motored the whole way we arrived at 9.30, everyone was keen to jump ashore and explore. A delicious supper of coq au vin (thanks to Mr D) was followed by a tour of the island and spectacular views of the sun setting. We all fell into bed at 1.30am, happy campers!

July 23

Woke to fog, it wasn’t quite socked in as we experienced before so we decided we could head off to our next destination. The breeze was around 15kn from SW so we were able to sail. It was a good upwind sail and the fog lifted enabling us to see where we were headed.  Tried fishing but with no luck,  we are determined to try again. The harbour, Vollavukta, we were headed for, described in the guide as having fuel, electricity water etc looked like a derelict site with a very rickety pontoon and no depth. They seem to have started construction on a new breakwater since the book was written, so we had to review and sail a bit further for an anchorage which turned out to be perfect. It was in the same fjord and only 10 mins away. Great supper followed by rowing for all under 22s to the nearby island whilst the rest of us read a bit more and fell into bed. Georgie & Charli had planned where we would go next: key was electricity so we wanted to leave early to be sure to get a place on the dock where we could plug in.

July 24, 2014

Wind 14kn North

Up anchor around 9.30, still a little overcast but the forecast was for brighter which came pretty quickly. We were chased out of the sound by two other yachts who we were convinced were going to take our spot in Stokksund, our next stop (approx 25miles away). Once out of the narrow route from the anchorage the wind was perfect for a spinnaker run for 2 ½ hours which was so much fun. Geoff & I have been in to Stokksund before so are familiar with the area but today it is full of motor boats luckily there’s room for us. Arrived around 3.30pm.

James, Charli, Georgie & Sean jumped in the row boat to get away from the marina and swim, apparently the water is the warmest it has been in years so they were keen to get in. We could hear the squeals across the bay hopefully captured some pictures. They rowed back happy and salty so hosed down on the dock. Their enthusiasm encouraged Geoff & Tim to row over and skinny dip- we could hear the whoops of delight from them (or perhaps from Geoff). Everyone returned happy and full of energy. A great day had by all.