Part 2

Our plan B was to go back to Brest as there was nowhere closer and many of the western French ports are notoriously difficult to enter due to the sea and currents. 

We decided to return to Brest. About 100 nautical miles. Against the wind and current we had to motor, but we were in no state to be putting sails up and down anyway. Progress was slow and it was hard work steering into the breaking waves. That night we 'hove to' again. Exhausted. The auto pilot had stripped the threads of the screw holes holding it onto the steering pedestal, so no chance of fixing that when your being pounded by waves.
We managed to get some rest. Alison was comatosed in the aft cabin, I lowered the saloon table by 6 inches to stop me being thrown off the sofa when that kind of wave hit, about every 15 seconds.
The next morning, looking at the chart plotter, we had lost nearly all the ground we had covered the day before. 

Looking at maps, currents, the chart plotter was beyond us. We both felt that ill.

I dispared.

 After a nights rest Alison was up and about and climbed behind the wheel 

'don't worry pet, I'll get you home' - I love that woman.

We took turns on the helm. With the cold and the waves regularly crashing over the bow soaking us, we could only manage half an hour stints. 

Alison's hands were bitterly cold and her deck hand cut finger gloves were no comfort once they got wet. I was a little better prepared, with Gill neoprene winter warm gloves. They act like a wet suit but with little activity helming, you can't generate any body heat, but they take the edge off.

When the waves crashed over the bow, we regularly got a face full of cold salty water that continued to stream from the boom and untidily dropped mainsail, that we couldn't tie up because it was too dangerous to go on deck. Even with our offshore sailing suits, the water found its way down our necks.

We put more clothes under our waterproofs and remembered a tip from David Williams, our RYA classroom instructor, whom recommended a beer towel around the neck. We didn't have any beer towels. Tea towels we did have and that made a difference.

We saw plenty of Dolphins that cheered us up along the way. Most remarkably in the night where they glowed in the dark. Something to do with phosphorescent I think. I'll have to google it. 
The sea got bigger and rougher. We remembered what a fellow Hunter owner at Falmouth had told us about riding at an angle down breaking waves instead of whalloping over them and that helped considerably. To spur us on I put on some of our favorite music, loudly through the cockpit speakers. Mostly Yngwie Malmsteen - hot and heavy - this made the time pass quicker and keep our minds off our aching backs from steering.
We still got water over the top though and as it came over the companion way hatch, it streamed into the cabin. I think there is some sort of seal missing there.
Checking the distance we had covered and how far there was to go I realised that we weren't going fast enough. So on with the revs. 

The cabin filled with black smoke so we slowed down again. Alison took the helm as I went down to have a look. Maybe an exhaust clamp needed tightening. I could find nothing wrong. Speeding up again all was fine. Maybe we got a wave up the exhaust pipe ?

Nearing the French coast that evening we were hailed by a French Coast Guard cutter asking our destination etc. They wished us well with permission to continue.

Come nightfall we switched on the running lights. The bow navigation light had stopped working. I could see no red and green reflected on the anchor. Probably taken by the sea. On with the Tri colour at the top of the mast. Your only supposed to use this if your under sail but needs must.

Approaching land the engine revs started lowering then raising again. After an hour of this the engine packed in. 

Biscay part 1

We set sail from Brest on Wednesday 13th November midday with a good forecast. So good in fact that I was worried that we would not have enough wind to sail. The Marina was like a mill pond and the sun was shining.

Our destination La Coruna, Northern Spain. 340 Nautical Miles away. 

The Wilde family aboard 'Tarquilla' waved us bon voyage as we left our berth and motored to the fuel pontoon to fill up.

Meteo consult marine weather predicted NE 3 veering to SSE , wave height 1-2 metres rising to 2-3 metres and a similar forecast for the next 3 days.

Passage weather/ Sling the hook agreed.

A good forecast indeed. Should be even better than the beginning of the week and best of all, no rain.
I shouldn't have feared about low winds, there was 15 - 20 knts all day.
In typical form, the wind was right on our nose, so we motored all of the way out of the channel.

 You can't have everything I suppose, the tide was with us. However we would be on a comfortable beam reach for the Bay of Biscay crossing.
Once we switched the engine off we really started motoring so to speak. Over 8 knts. As we progressed the sea became progressively rougher. We put a reef in the mainsail to reduce speed. 'Artemis' our Hunter Legend 37.5 was going like a train! 

Still too fast, another reef was better. 

Marvelous sailing.

Come nightfall, we had made good progress so we put the boat to bed by furling in most of the Genoa to avoid worrying about it during the night.  We then took turns to keep watch while the auto pilot did the steering. We were looking forward to Spain and some warmer weather.

First Alison started feeling queasy, then me ( a first for Alison ). Then 30 minutes later the auto pilot alarm kept signalling - off course - time and time again and had to be switched off. I steered for an hour but Alison was too ill to take her turn. I was feeling rather ill myself by then. 

I made the decision to heave to and basically stopped and drifted for the rest of the night. We had plenty of sea around us to drift into.
We took turns between vomiting to keep watch. By morning we were both completely disabilitated. Headache, stomach ache, aches and pains and of course nausea.

Alison had never been sea sick before. Not on our sailing trips together or when she worked on cruise ships as a croupier. I regularly felt rough for the first day. We had spent the last month in a marina, not exactly good preparation with hindsight.

How long we would be ill for was unknown. We were in no fit state to sail a yacht, that was for sure. We could barely move a mussle without feeling sick.

Thursday morning, the sea state had got less predictable and looked like a small mountain range. We had 140 odd metres beneath us, so hadn't left the continental shelf. In deeper water, we were told, you get the Atlantic swell with long rolling waves and a smoother ride.

Every wave was breaking, we really were crossing a wilderness.

Decisions had to be made. 

Plan B ?

Wasted Window

The window I'm referring to in the title is the 5/10 day weather window that has brought a lot of excitement to the marina. 

A high pressure system has moved across the Atlantic, bringing lighter winds and calmer seas. Yachts like us have been waiting for this opportunity to cross the Bay of Biscay and beyond. 

A week or so ago we battened down the hatches for the forecasted 99 mph winds - not an accurate forcast as the morning after the Marina office weather display showed that it only reached 98.2 mph. Ha ha. Even moored in the sheltered Marina du Chateau, here in Brest, we had a very uncomfortable night and I was seasick come the morning. 

    On Sunday yachts started leaving. David, Elaina and friends set off for Lisbon. 

An American family set sail for the Canaries. Two more Yachts left for the same destination. None were going to La Caruna (our target) unfortunately, as we would like some company. 

      We decided to go Monday. The day came, we were looking at an 11.30 cast off. The washing we didn't do the night before at the laundrette, due to torrential rain, didn't go well. The machines had developed a fault and took longer than expected. A mad dash to town for supplies ended up us having to hunt high and low for a tabacconist that was open on a French Bank Holiday. Just about still on target we decided to fuel up while waiting for the washing.  The new engine start battery was flat. 

That was it. We weren't going anywhere. 

     That day and the day after, with the help of our neighbour Lauren, we tried to find out why the new battery with the bright green 'ok' indicator had not been charged. Had our previous exploding battery damaged the electrical system?

    We missed the leaving of Sodebo the huge French trimaran going on a solo circumnavigation. We were down below rewiring the battery charger connections. 

      After tracing and labelling every cable - a very worth while task, you find things you didn't know you had and stuff you don't need - we sorted out a sure fire charging system. The battery was left to charge for the afternoon. Still wouldn't start the engine but read over 12 volts. The other batteries when switched in, started the engine easily. 

Conclusion - Duff battery.  We trollied it back to the Chandlers before they shut for the day. Once there I put my Multi tester over the terminals one more time. 9 volts. Jeeeez. 

    They exchanged the battery no problem. We paid a little extra for a different brand that had a good charge when tested. 

Back on the boat the engine started. So if it's still ok in the morning we are finally setting sail. 

   We were invited aboard Lauren's catamaran to share the wine we gifted him and partake of o'deuves prepared by wife Celia and the company of their two darling daughters. 

   Previously we had been entertained by Mark, Sarah and boys x3 of catarmaran 'Tarquilla' for a bonfire night celebration (the English Bastile day?). The Wildes' are an English Family who have been cruising the coast of France for 2 years. They are a lovely family and a mine of information. Look up the name of their boat to read their blogs.

 sarahontarquilla.blogspot

    During our time here we have done plenty of maintenance on the boat. 

New air con hose

Top sides cleaned and waxed

Alison, have you seen the red toggles

BANG ! and The Battery is Gone !

Woke up in the early hours to a 'Bang'. 

I thought that something had fallen from a great height and smacked on the deck. 

    Couldn't see anything. Still dark. Alison shot up to see what had happened. As we wondered, Alison noticed shredded bits in the cockpit. A cockpit stereo speaker had exploded and the deck shower compartment lid was down. 

    We looked at each other 'The battery box'. 

   Once it got light I carefully opened the battery locker. 

One of the batteries had exploded shearing the top off it and spraying acid all over. 

What a mess. 

I wasn't even playing any Heavy Metal. 

Unhooking the shore power lead and switching everything off we surveyed the damage. 

The blast had taken out the affore mentioned speaker and blown the shower cover down. 

A quick Google showed that this isn't unheard of and water and bicarbonate of soda was called for. 

   We went to the marina office to tell them and see if they could dispose of a partial battery. Yes, but leave it outside. 

   On carefully removing the damaged batt. With protective gloves and upmost care. We put it in a battery box we had spare and trollied it to the office. 

     The onboard shore power trip had activated, so after a thorough clean up I insulated the hanging terminals and tried the electrics. Everything worked. Thank God.  

   Now a warning to others in a similar situation. 

We had heard a whistling sound for a few days before, when the batteries were on charge. I had Googled it and 'Nothing to worry about' was my conclusion. 'I was wrong!!'

The battery in question had been inspected by myself a few weeks earlier. Topped up with distilled water, terminals cleaned and the the green ok indicator was showing. 

It was our oldest battery and seems the noise was the acid bubbling under charge. It could of boiled too dry, 'been overcharged. ( it was the first in line in a bank of three ) or just become defective due to age. Don't know which. 

    With a replacement battery fitted I carefully checked the wiring. Also swapped the largest battery over to the electronics side and put the new one on the engine, as it has a Green indicator for quick checking. 

New battery installed

    Found the battery charger, under the settee in the saloon. Sterling Marine Power, battery charger/power pack. Looked online for an installation guide to check that it had been installed correctly. Couldn't find the right model. All seem newer than mine.

 I am going to give the company a call or email tomorrow and check a few things out. 

    Also, after my activities in the battery compartment, Alison noticed holes appearing in my jeans. Going to clean the locker again with more bicarb. 

     Down below, our bedroom woodwork was showing damp patches. The water I had put in to dilute the acid hadn't found its way to the bilges but sat behind the hanging locker. How annoying. 

Lots of screws and panels were removed and any water soaked up with paper towel. 

Water has got in there before by the looks of it. Will be checking that out. 

You've still got to eat. 

A day out at the Chateau Museum

German mini sub from WW2

Parle' vous English

Ok. I'm sick of talking about the weather so lets just say we wanted to visit France!

Brest in Brittany to be exact. Nice place and the food is gorgeous. 

Marina du Chateau. 

Plenty of people speak English. Thank goodness Embarrassing isn't it when your French is atrocious ! But we are making an effort - just wish we had been more prepared in that department. 

  Our jib furling mech jammed on the way here. Tut! another thing - so have just had it repaired. 

We realise what it means to have too much sail up on this Hunter Legend 37.5 now. She rears towards the wind like a Stallion.  After a reef she regains her composure and sails beautifully. 

Tied the headsail up as best we could till we moored up. 

Bit of excitement today when a huge trimaran turned up. Due to leave shortly on a circumnavigation world record attempt. 

Falmouth

Set out for Falmouth - Friday 5th October 2013. 

Found a bike for Dad. 

The wind was in the wrong direction again so we had to put a few tacks in. We left Plymouth escorted by Dolphins.

 

http://youtu.be/zilDUh90VXA

http://youtu.be/wArh4-kKiwk

A very pleasant sail non the less. 

We wanted to get there before dark so put the engine on for the last hour or so. 

We arrived at Falmouth with a rainbow. 

Missed the rain though!

Palm trees aplenty!

Good name eh Gene! Probably some stinking rich Chemist. 

Got the sail parts we ordered and ordered a valve for the bog (toilet). 

Having a last check over and re-stock before Biscay. 

Our Pal Peter, we met at Brixham has arrived today - Sunday - and says he's leaving in the morning. We were hoping to go together. So we have put up a notice at the marina to try and find some yachts going in the same direction. We'll see. 

Plymouth

We arrived at Plymouth Yacht Haven looking like 2 drowned rats! We had problems with the mainsail again and it was lying in a mess, just about on the boom. 

Good news! The marina has just started its winter rates so mooring charges are less than expected. Thanks for the goody bag and free wi-fi. 

    Booked in for 2 nights, looks like its going to be a third as there is thunder and lightening right above us at the moment. Tomorrow looks better. 

Shotting it down. 

We had just hoisted our still wet oil skins up the mast to dry, then straight down again as the heavens opened. 

On with the 'air con'. We'll see if we can dry them hung up in the cabin. 

Alison's happy with a book. 

On our last night at Brixham some local kids had the bright idea of launching 100 floating candles from a slipway next to the marina. 

I think it was in remembrance of a school kid who had committed suicide. Our deepest condolences. 

The wind blew the floating flames in our direction. I'm not sure as to how much of a hazzard this would cause, but I didn't like the thought of a naked flame nestled up to our plastic boat. 

A guy from the marina office came down and extinguished them when they came within range of his hose pipe. The few he missed I got by splashing them with the deck brush. The don't go out that easily. 

This photo is after most were extinguished. 

The marina said that they have had problems with Chinese lanterns also. 

   Did you know that you can apply to the RYA for an ICC ( International Certificate of Competence ) by filling in a form and sending them photo copies of your Day Skipper Practical certificate and Passport?  We've just found out. Why didn't anyone tell us before?

Thanks Keith from 'Black Diamond of Durham' and Peter ( S/v Elshar ) we met at Brixham. 

Sending today. Fast track.