Crossing Biscay (long post)

SAT 29 AUGUST – FALSE START

Intended to leave Audierne about midday, but there was a bit of a fiasco when the flexible water tank split while filling it. Lots of bilge mopping, water buying (5l bottles) etc. Finally left just before 3, round about high water.

Once out at sea we set the Navik and deployed the genoa. Slow progress in very light winds from astern for the first hour, then it picked up – and up. Swell was over 2m, waves about the same, and the Navik was coping even if the crew were beginning to wonder…

About six or seven miles out we saw a lobster pot (I presumed) marked with a flag. As we left it about 50m to starboard I noticed an identical flag way off to port, but thought no more of it. Shortly afterwards the wind started gusting over 30 knots and the Navik’s course keeping seemed to become erratic. On investigating I found the wee safety spring had released, allowing the paddle to stream out fruitlessly behind the boat. I managed to stop the boat by furling half the genoa away and coming as close to the wind as she would go, sort of heaving to but without putting the bow through the wind. The errant paddle thankfully retrieved, we headed back to France as the two of us could not have hand steered all night in those conditions.

It took about four hours to get back to St Yvette, two hours making slow progress to windward under genoa and two motoring when the seas went down a bit near the coast.

Picked up a visitors mooring in the Anse de St Yvette and had a look at the Navik. The plastic bit of the jointed connector was almost pulled off and a bit deformed, but it pushed back onto the underlying metal rod OK. The safety pin/lever thingy was no longer sprung, but that was easily fixed by turning the pin anticlockwise a few degrees.

Looks like we still have a working windvane. Bread, cheese and prawns for tea and so to bed, knackered.

SUN AUG 30 – FINALLY LEAVING FRANCE

Finally leaving France… We slipped our mooring at St Yvette at one o’clock and by one fifteen were sailing with the Navik steering.

Progress was slow at first, but soon the second reef was in and we were romping along at over six knots. Still amazed at how little wind Avy-J takes to get her moving along smartly.

Mushroom risotto with chorizo for dinner tonight. I finished the cooking as Catherine felt a bit queasy – it was very rolly.

We watched the sun go down and the moon come up. I took the nine to midnight watch whole Catherine rested in the forepeak. The Northerly wind had been swinging to the East, and we were now 5 miles off track so I gybed the boat (no drama) and settled her down on the port tack, sailing down the glistening moon path towards Spain.

MONDAY 31ST AUGUST – AT SEA

At midnight Catherine came on watch, just as our first ship of the crossing appeared, so I stayed up to see it safely past. I crawled into the port quarterberth (formerly Darren’s domain) where I found a cosy nest, but sadly the crashing about of the Sails as we rolled in the dwindling wind but not so dwindling swell soon had me back on deck trying to quiet things down.

It was now after two, so I decided to stay up. We saw another ship safely across our bow on her way to Bilbao, then Catherine made me a coffee and went for a shot of the quarterberth.

By this time I was pretty tired, but relaxing into the passage and hoping for plenty of sleep in the coming day when we were almost certainly going to have to motor. At four o’clock French time we were beam reaching at 3.3 knots in eight or nine knots of wind, while a mystery vessel with no AIS signature came up astern. I could see both masthead lights and her green – it looked as though she would pass close on a parallel course. At 04.10 the bearing was 080., ten minutes later 085. My guess was a French fishing vessel with his AIS turned off for some nefarious reason.

The wind was up and down, and a bit of adverse tide saw the speed drop below three knots hfor an hour or so, but by half past five we were romping along at five and a half knots.

Then suddenly no wind, rolling and crashing. Just coming to the abyssal cliff. Genoa away, engine on. Engine is a tad realuctant to start on battery 1, but it does.

4.5 knots, main still up W. 2 reefs, wind now about 3 knots on the nose. Rolly, autohelm coping – just. We are about to go off the shelf.
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07.00
47deg 01.12’N
05deg 22.375W

Wind 3kts S
221 miles to Viveiro
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10.00 (still on French time)
46deg 48.31′ N
5deg 31.2′ W
Over the cliff… Now in 2000m of water.

Set engine to give 4.5kts SOG

206nm to Viveiro. 47 hours at current speed. Have we got enough fuel to motor all the way? Probably. Engine smells oily tho and film of oil on rocker cover.

Into neutral briefly to lift Navik paddle.

Beautiful sunny day, shorts on.

Got an OCENS weather forecast for where we should be tomorrow morning (+80nm approx). Wind E or NE 6-8 knots, swell 1m or less.
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13.00 (French time)
46deg 35.23′ N
05deg 36.96’W

Days run 97NM
Distance to Viveiro WP 193nm
Sog 4.5kts ETA 45 hours

Clouding over, jeans back on.
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13.30 Great excitement – spotted a yacht maybe 3-5 miles away. Looks as though they are motorsailing North (well, motoring with a sail up). No AIS return from them.
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Second Skipper woke at about half past three, and after the most cursory of reports (all clear, nothing to see here) I dived into the forepeak, a comfortable seaberth in these conditions and mercifully far away from the engine and the ‘singing’ noise that is more or less constant now when the boat rolls even slightly to port.

Up at 6.30 and poured 10 litres of diesel in to partly replenish the tank. 3 of 4vknots kof Easterly breeze now combining nicely with the engine to keep the (still double-reefed) main full. Maybe even a sail later… Got an OCENS forecast from the InReach for where we should be tomorrow, 6-8 knots E or NE might be sailable.
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19.15 (French time)
46deg 08. 11’N
5deg 53.26’W
164nm to Viveiro
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Catherine cooking up haggis, tatties and carrots. Hearty boat fare, followed by washing up in seawater in the cockpit.

Catherine off 8.30 to midnight for some rest. Think I will write up the (paper) log and put a few positions on the chart, even if it is just for a souvenir for the grandchildren.

22.45
Half way. 145nm from St. Evette, 145nm to Viveiro. Had a small Nights Watch to celebrate and thought of Tim at home, in pain and waiting for a new hip. Biscay is easy by comparison, not to mention a lot more fun!

Now motor-sailing rather than just motoring, gained about half a knot but a bouncer ride, not so good for sleeping. Should be able to slow down and sail a bit tomorrow, otherwise we risk getting to Viveiro in the dark. May still decide to press on for La Coruna tomorrow night. Decisions, decisions… the burden of command.

Photographed weird face/eyes in the sky where the moon shone through holes in the cloud.
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TUESDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER – AT SEA
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00.00 (still CEST, UTC +2)
45deg 43.37N
06deg 10.40W

Charging along at five and a half knots, so selfishly cut a few revs for a quieter ride on my off-watch, which I chose to spend in the forepeak as it is so much quieter than the quarterberth with rhe engine on. Managed a couple of hours, totally relaxed in these conditions with Catherine on watch.

Up to find the moon had broken out of its cloudy prison and was lighting our water road to Spain again. Oaty biscuit and coffee and three hours ahead of me to amuse myself. Last watch I retrospectively plotted some positions on our current large-scale passage chart and scribbled the log book up to date. This watch it is most likely going to be ‘Hell on Earth’ on the Kindle, with the screen turned down extra low to preserve my night vision.

BISCAY LOG PART 2

TUESDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER
03.42 French (CEST) TIME
Motor-sailing at modest revs, still two reefs in the main, 4 or 5 knots of wind giving a close reach in 8-9 kts apparent. Stable, comfortable, frugal. Timing is for a dawn arrival ideally, some 28 hours from now.

O4. 30
Eating dry-roasted peanuts in the middle of the night 120 miles off the Spanish coast. Because I can. Hope Catherine is sleeping OK in the forepeak.

05.45
Saw port light and steaming light of what I guessed was probably a yacht motoring. Checked AIS – Yacht ‘Seabird’ on a course of 052deg, passed is at a little over 5 miles.
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06.00
45deg 22.27′ N
06deg 24.56W
Distance to Viveiro 113nm

Sky lightening in E

10.30
Add 30 litres of diesel to the tank. The jiggle pump worked well with the big 20 litre can.

Catherine made porridge for breakfast, which was delicious.
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12.00 (CEST)
44deg 59.09′
06deg 38.50W
To WP: 88.4nm
eta 08.00 BST (Spanish time)
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Wind is about 8 knots almost aft. Potentially great cruising chute conditions, but we are too tired, it is very rolly and Catherine is having a snooze in the quarterberth. So it is more motoring, smelly now with the wind bringing the exhaust over the stern. Am hoping the wind will come on the beam later.

12.30 CEST
Sailing for a while to check engine – turn onto 190 approx.
Large yacht motoring up from astern puts sails up when it sees us sailing and makes a close pass. Ashanti? (no name on AIS)
Take out 2nd reef, sailing at 2.5 – 3 knots but bit clattery.

Oil is a bit below halfway between min and max. Add four wee tin dishes (maybe half a litre, maybe less).

14.00 CEST – change clocks to Spanish time (BST) (back one hour)

13.30 BST – Engine back on, resume course.

14.00 Boom slamming/sail slating too much. Put 2nd reef back in. Examine gooseneck – it looks a bit twisted, needs treating with care and further thought.

14.30 Dprop main. Put a reefed genoa out sheeted in hard to dampen rolling.

Catherine sitting down at the bow, me in the budgie smugglers. A beautiful afternoon.

16.00 Tried to get some kip, but annoyingly rolly. 5 knots apparent from dead aft. Probably cruising-chute able, but we would have to hand steer and we are both getting pretty tired now, so not really an option. At our current speed we should arrive just before dawn, and we are planning to anchor and go straight to bed!

Corned beef and lettuce for dinner.

20.10 Ships Time (BST)

Beginning to think my info about Spain being an hour behind France was nonsense, sun has just set and I know the Spanish like late evenings. Oh well, our phones will let us know when we get there.

Looking at info for Viveiro again, ‘sheltered in all but Northerlies’. Just got a forecast from the Garmin, ENE so should be fine. Could press on for La Coruna, but too tired I think – getting the hook down and getting some kip is probably a good idea, check Windy and make a plan for getting further round the coast to Cedeira or Coruna. Day sailing for the next 150 miles anyway, with plenty of anchoring opportunities.

Moon rising weirdly.
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23.30 BST
44deg 11.58′ N
07deg 13.11′ W

33nm to the entrance to the ria. We should be there at dawn.
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Got my head down at three, large ship with dodgy CPA appeared minutes later and I was called up to see it cross our bow a quarter of a mile ahead. Apart from that, even an alarm on the radio failed to keep me awake. Wind still astern so a bit stinky with the odd whiff of exhaust blowing in, but I was loving that bunk the way you do on the third day of a short-handed passage.

Up at 4.00 BST, still not sure what Spanish time is – no doubt Vodafone will tell us soon – we are getting an intermittent signal even 20 miles out.

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05.00 CEST 04.00 BST
43deg 54.35’N
07deg 26.66W
13 miles to run to ria entrance
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08.15

Anchored Viveiro. Perfect anchorage in the corner formed by the beach and the mole at the river mouth. One other boat anchored!

Huge quantities of eggy bread and so to bed.

13.00 (Turns out Spanish and French time are the same)

Up to have a very lazy afternoon doing very little. Nibbled, sunbathed, watched boats coming and going. Topped up our leaky old engine with oil, but didn’t it do well? Ran for 48 hours with only a two hour break.

Catherine made a sort of risotto with wild rice, chorizo and tinned fish. It was delicious, especially with the special bottle of Rioja I had been saving for something (like arriving in Spain!)

A wee sail round Cabo Ortegal tomorrow to Cedeira, then A Coruna on Thursday, where we may have to wait for a few days for weather to round Finisterre.