Falmouth to Bilbao

Falmouth to Cameret

27/09/18 - 28/09/18

The repairs to Ocean Waves were complete and the bill paid, we were free to resume our adventure again but we were running out of time.

Our insurance company do not cover sailing across or around the Biscay between the end of September and April. We contacted them and they agreed to insure us until the end of October provided that we port hopped and that we had a minimum of three people on board until we reached our winter destination of Gijon or La Coruna. That was the break that we needed.

We set about sorting out crew, we were advised to contact Crewbay and we received a number of responses, after some discussions we asked a Canadian sailor to come and join us. Bernard arrived on the 23/09/18. Adam also joined us, he needed to build miles for his Yacht master ocean qualifications. We were good to go.

We departed Falmouth at 13.50 on the 26/09/18 and the forecast was for good visibility and with a F3/4 for the duration of the passage. Morale on board was good and we settled into the passage quite quickly. Adam and Bernard soon had the sails up and as we departed Carrick Roads we were doing around 5Knts over the ground.By 16.00 we had covered 28NM, the dolphins had dropped by to wave us on and the sea conditions were clam with very clear skies, the wind had dropped to almost nothing and we decided to put the sails down and motor for a while.

As the evening drew in the watch system was implemented, Alan and Bernard took the first watch between 22.00 - 1.00am. With Terri and Adam taking over, this three hour on three hour off continued until 8.00am. The night passage was largely uneventful, the shipping lanes were quiet and the sea conditions were perfect. At 07.00 we were able to see the light on Ushant and in the distance we could see main land Brittany.

Terri also forgot that it was her daughter karrie's birthday, this did not go down well with Karrie.

Adam and Bernard were finding their way around Ocean Waves and were impressed by its speed when under sail.We arrived in Cameret at 11.50 DST (12.30 local time) on a bright sunny warm day, our berth was just inside the harbour wall beside the church of the sea. The passage was calm and uneventful, as you can imagine we were excited to have started our adventure for real. Tomorrow the journey takes us through the Raz de Sein

Cameret to Benedet

28/09/18

Before departing there has been some discussion about the wind strength and tide push around the Raz de Sein, it was agreed that we would delay our departure by three hours.

We eventually departed Cameret at 09.53 local time, the conditions were windy around 18knts with bright clear sky and very warm. It was looking like a really good sailing day. By 11.00 we had the full set of sails up and the engine was off, the crew took the time to sun worship for a while.

Breakfast of bacon sandwiches were consumed as the Raz de Sein came into view. Calm sea, slight wind, inner forsail, mizzen and main were up and we were being helped by the tidal push. At one point we held 8knts over the ground and were happy with the progress.

As we rounded a very flat Raz de Sein Adam remarked that he could have sailed his dinghy it was that calm. (there was also some more discussion as to why we left late, sailors are never happy). The afternoon wind kicked in and all sails were up, the engine off and we were flying along for a couple of hours at least. At 18.47 the wind gusts had increased but as they reached 20knts the sails were brought in.

Unfortunately Ocean Waves decided that it was not going to play nice, it would not come head to wind, the two foresails were flapping and Bernard and Adam fought to gain control of the outer foresail when Bernard suffered a rope lash to his face. Once the sails were put away and Bernard had been patched up we motored on to Benodet but we had way to go and it became apparent that we were going to have to run into the night again.

This wasn't a problem but on the charts were a number of unlit marker buoys some of them on top of very nasty rock piles. Navigation was going to be tricky. Around 22.00 local time we approached the entrance to Benodet, the marina was located up river and the whole area from the entrance to the marina was unlit.

We found a suitable pontoon, and once secured the tired and grumpy crew went to bed. The departure tomorrow for Port Heliguen was going to be an early one.

Benedet to Port Haliguen

29/09/18

We departed Benodet just a the dawn was breaking around 07.30, the river looked beautiful in the light and easy to navigate when you are able to see your way through.

The sea state was slight and was predicted to stay that way for the duration of the passage, the forecast was for strong winds to kick in around 10.00 and for a change they were in our favour. Adam tried to experiment with the silk mizzen stay sail as it was light winds, the sail was made in 1963, it didn't work that well but it was worth trying it out.

We managed to sail for a few hours but at 13.00 the winds died, and we had to motor for the rest of the journey, as the sun was shining and the sails were redundant the crew took the time to relax and catch up on some sleep. Terri made a chocolate cake and some bread which kept the crew happy until team time.

We arrived in Port Heliguen at 17.00, ready for a hot shower and some good food. Although it had been a quiet day this was needed as having to sail every day with the few night passages had started to take its toll on the crew.

The facilities at the port were very good and the crew settled down to a nice beef ragu and some red wine to finish. The next leg of the journey to La Rochelle was going to involve another night passage but there was no other way as Adam needed to leave us for a flight home.

Port Haliguen to La Rochelle

30/09/18

We departed Port Heliguen with Adam at the helm, Adam was going to be lead for the day as part of his mileage requirements.

The forecast was for F3/4's, sea state slight and the sun was shining too. We had a smooth exit from the finger berth at Port Heliguen and within 20 minutes of leaving the full set of sails were up and filling in nicely. Another 30ft boat had left port around the same time as us and were heading in the same direction so a race was soon underway, even though the other boat was unaware of this.

We were making good progress and at 11.30 were were overtaking the other boat and the crew were content. At 13.00 the wind dropped off to almost nothing so we had to motor sail with just the mizzen and inner foresail for a good few hours. After lunch, and cake had been consumed the crew on first watch went for a sleep.

By 15.00 we were back on the wind but the watch leader had taken his eye of the ball and the other crew members were unaware that we had gone off course by as much as 8 NM. After getting back on track for La Rochelle Ocean Waves encountered another issue.

The navigation equipment had malfunctioned, navigation was now only possible from charts and compass. A real test for the Adam who was watch lead today. Alan was a little frustrated and as the crew started to problem solve tension filled the boat.

As we were heading for another night sail it was important that we had the navigation equipment functioning properly, discussions started regarding alternative ports if we decided to divert. After an hour of trying to work out why the equipment had malfunctioned Alan moved a screwdriver and as if by magic the system started to work again. Someone had placed a magnetic screwdriver over the navigation compass (it does not like magnetic things put anywhere near it). Problem solved.After a late dinner the watch system was put back into action and I am pleased to say that there were no further issues with the boat, the equipment or the crew. The sea state throughout the night was slight to moderate with F2/3 winds and as we had stayed quite close to shore the only navigation issues we had were lobster pots and a few port channel marks.We arrived in the beautiful port of La Rochelle around 09.30, we moored on a finger berth again which Alan manoeuvred into seamlessly, hes getting good at that now!. We finished off with a typically french breakfast and loads of tea.

La Rochelle to Bilbao

03/10/2018

We departed La Rochelle at 11.15 local time, this was going to be a long passage down to Bilbao crossing the Bay of Biscay.

We had a passage plan that would take us on a trajectory of between 50 and 75 miles off shore. The weather report was for slight seas, gusting F3 for the early part of the evening but other than that relatively calm with little wind. The estimated passage time was based on an average of 5Knts per hour and would take around 36 hours. Although we expected this to be much less.

We had a very easy departure out of La Rochelle, the sun was shinning and before exiting the main channel we were able to put up the 2 fore sails and the Mizzen.By 15.00 local time the maximum wind speed was 7knts with smooth waves.

We were making good progress but mostly under motor sailing conditions. Bernard was going to take the first watch so had gone for a sleep and Terri was preparing food for and a Banana cake for he passage.

We had travelled around 29NM at this stage and the average speed over the ground was 7.1Knts.Our watch pattern was three on and three off and this started at 17.30, by 21.00 the night sky was filling with an array of stars that proved to be the best yet. The milky way displayed was so huge and varied that most of the watches were spent gazing upwards. Thankfully being so far off shore there was very little in the way of hazards to stop us.

The sunsets and sunrises on this trip were equally stunning and those fortunate to see them were not disappointed.Over night the winds we averaged 6.5Knts over the ground which made good progress and reduced out passage time by 5 hours. We estimated being in Bilbao marina by 15.00. The watches went ok, although sleep was not a restorative sleep and by 9.00am the next morning everyone was feeling a little jaded.Food restored the energy levels though and the mood within the crew was happy, especially when presented with large omelettes for breakfast. By 10.00am we had only 42 KM left to run.

By 14.00 we could see the mountains surrounding Bilbao and the large shipping tankers that use the port were playing dodgems with us as we approached the shipping separation scheme at the entrance of Bilbao. (There were two ships that did not observe this separation and there was a period of butt clenching as one got too close) The sea state throughout the crossing remained calm throughout and the winds at times were gusting F3/F4 for most of it we were lucky to see them raise above F2.