12th September 2024: 50 48.727N 0 52.363W: Bosham Mooring.
Day Log: 22.1nm. Total Log: 1,692.7nm.
I was up and working by 0700hrs. The early morning sun bathing the Beaulieu River in a magical golden light. Unfortunately it also splashed annoyingly over my computer screen. I took breakfast on the poop deck, if you can’t beat it join it.
At 11:00hrs I hoisted the main then dropped the mooring and ghosted down the river and out into the Solent. Last night when doing my navigation I realised that there was a straight line from the end of the Beaulieu River to the Chichester Harbour fairway buoy. It goes straight through the gap on the WW2 submarine netting that guarded the entrance to the Solent. Perfect, my challenge was to set the autohelm and not touch it on the way apart from a degree or so tidal variation as required to keep a straight line.
I almost made it, then just before the Chichester Fairway Buoy we got tangled up in a RS2000 dinghy race. One chap decided to go up the lee of EIVIVA causing me to put in a fast gybe before he capsized during a spinnaker launch in the wind shadow of the boat. He probably blames me but I was running goose winged and compared to him a small slow moving island to avoid.
There was little wind on the sail today so it was a relaxing finish to this year’s cruise. I picked up our mooring buoy at Bosham first try even though someone had wound the chain on top of it to keep it out of the water.
This trip has been different from the previous years. Sailing when not working rather than exploring when not sailing. Work gave me something to consider between sails and as a result I feel that I have had more purpose in life. I enjoy what I have been doing over the last forty years so why not keep going for as long as people want me?
A thoroughly enjoyable voyage. I will now have to learn how to speak to people all over again.
I can feel a Baltic cruise coming up next year.
The sun goes down on another summer cruise. EIVIVA back on her home mooring in the Bosham channel.
10th-11th September 2024: 50 46.700N 1 23.752W: Beaulieu River.
Day Log: 24.9nm. Total Log: 1,670.6nm.
I am waking up early these day's. Then again I am usually asleep by ten, so up and going by six is a great nights sleep. Today the tide ran towards the Solent from 10:00hrs and by the time I dropped the buoy I had already done a few hours work. The other boats in Studland bay all had the same idea and were leaving with me. This is always a good sign as it means that my tide ruminations are probably OK.
The wind was NW 14-18kts, perfect for EIVIVA and we got to Yarmouth first out of the fleet. It is noticeable that when the wind and sea picks up she really gets going and then when the wind drops back the fleet gains ground. Not that I have a competitive nature, everyone that knows me will tell you that.
Arrived at Yarmouth where I intended to pick up a buoy but the wind was with the tide so although I could drive slowly up to the buoy by the time I dropped the helm and jogged to the bow the wind had blown the bow away from the buoy. After a few failed attempts I gave up. In any case the sea state was not conducive to a relaxing stay. I decided that the Beaieu River would offer better protection. Up with the sails and with the tide still running in the right direction we arrive at the anchorage close to the mouth an hour later. This was also tough to pick up and I pratted around for half an hour before I hooked up.
It was still early afternoon so I got back to work. A chap arrived and asked me for £41, in the past this area was a free anchorage but this was probably many years ago. I have some great early sailing memories of the Beaulieu River.
At 18:30hrs I took the rib up to Bucklers Hard for a pint and some food. I am almost home and feel like I deserve a night where I have someone else cook for me.
A good wind for EIVIVA and she remained Infront of everyone else.
Beaulieu River at Bucklers Hard, Very picturesque.
9th September 2024: 50 38.734N 1 56.229W: Studland Bay.
Day Log: 31.2nm. Total Log: 1,645.7nm.
This has been the longest gap between (B)logs since I started doing them. I have been cowering in Portland Harbour in adverse wind and torrential rain with little to report. For most of the week I kept myself occupied working and doing odd jobs.
On Friday the weather lifted a bit so I went on a 6K run over the hill on this side of Weymouth and down around the lake behind Chesil Beach. The coastal footpath was closed but luckily the tide was low and I managed to scramble along the high tide line avoiding most of the mud. I ran with a backpack and purchased a bottle of Bordeaux from the CoOp on the way! At the end of the day, I was not sure which one had done me the most amount of good.
Today, Monday 9th September, the wind was finally good to go East. Only a short 26Nm hop to Studland Bay with a 17 to 22kt wind coming over the land at about 120 degree. Good sailing that had EIVIVA romping along at top speed helped by a following tide and calmish sheltered water. Halfway there I was minding my own business when I powerful diesel rumble announced the arrival of the Lulworth Range Patrol boat. They asked me to head offshore 4 miles out of range. I should keep my VHF on really as it would have saved them the chase. This added another 10 miles to the trip but we were still in Studland Bay by lunch time.
I checked the anchoring situation in the bay last night as I know the environmentalists have been trying to stop anchoring over the last few years. The relevant website said that there were free buoys that should be used rather than anchoring due to seagrass and sea horses. When I got there the buoys were for 10 tons max. I assume that this is calculated as 10 tons in a force 8 wind, so I took one anyway as the wind should drop away over night. We shall see. I have the anchor alarm set just in case.
Scenic back side of Weymouth looking over Portland Harbour, EIVIVA out there somewhere.
Lighthouse at Durlston Head on the Purbeck Hills.
There’ll be spitfires over the white cliffs of Studland……
3rd September 2024: 50 35.321N 2 27.367W: Portland Harbour.
Day Log: 115.6nm. Total Log: 1,614.5nm.
Up at 0345hrs into an inky black night with no moonlight, there were a few stars peeking out between clouds, but their ancient twinkle added nothing to help visibility. I couldn’t see anything beyond the bow of the boat. We left at tick over. I had a good idea where the mooring buoys were situated but the harbour master had added a few small yellow ones further out that were unlit and not charted. I saw one of them as it passed a few metres away. The wind was blowing from the NW at about 12kts and the mainsail was out before we turned up past Shag Rock and the yankee soon after as we rounded St Anthony Head.
Sunrise was at about 0630hrs and once I could see what I was doing I rigged the spinnaker and added a knot to the boat speed as we headed across the bay towards the Eddystone Lighthouse. By midday Salcombe was on the port beam and the wind was still holding good. The coastguard weather forecast said that there was little wind across Lyme Bay so I had kept offshore by ten miles or so in the hope that it would be stronger further from the land. With 30 miles to go to Portland Bill I took the spinnaker down as the boat speed was consistently below 4kts and I had to make the Bill before the tide turned as it was very strong today.
Typically, as we approached Portland Bill the wind came in hard from the north, with the added wind speed and a 3.5kt tide pushing us along we rounded the seaward end of the Portland bank doing 10.5kts SOG. Then a handbrake turn down the side of the Bill before the tide turned. By now it was 2200hrs and once again pitch black. I had forgotten what it was like to sail towards a shore where the only visible things are the lights on shore that confuse the eye and overpower the navigation lights that twinkle dimly. At one point with the Shambles Bank close on the starboard bow the cross tide was so strong that I was pointing directly at the lighthouse almost back the way I had come to go in the right direction. Thank you Navionics! To do this no visibility cross-tide stunt using traditional navigation would have been very scary indeed.
Then into Portland Harbour down with the anchor and asleep by 23:30hrs. That felt like a long day at sea with an early start on top of a couple of hard weeks work. The total trip was 115.6NM and it took 18.5 hours, steady comfortable progress.
Me the spinnaker and dawn, heading west towards Weymouth.
Seagull landing on a 3.8 billion quid tax investment.
31stAugust to 2nd September 2024: 50 05.906N 5 06.654W: St Mawes UK.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,498.9nm.
Crikey! That was a push to the presentation today. I was still rendering views at 21:00hrs last night.
Captain Maz phoned up yesterday and said the weather had changed from easterlies to north westerlies for tomorrow. Although I am still a bit knackered I am setting off at 0400hrs to sail the 115NM to Weymouth.
In preparation for the sail I ran 6K over the hill from St Mawes past the Castle on the headland and on towards St Just in Roseland and back. Then a little sleep in the afternoon followed by shopping, a beer, and takeaway fish and chips.
Perfect preparation for an early start!
I didn’t get around to taking any photographs this week so you get a picture of seaguls bobbing around after fighting for left over fish and chips.
30th August 2024: 50 05.906N 5 06.654W: St Mawes UK.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,498.9nm.
Well, what a week.
Not that I looked out of the companion way with any regularity. I could tell what the weather was doing by whether it kept up with the demands of the computer and the internet connection. On a rainy day it was struggling, on a sunny day it just about kept Infront of demand.
The presentation that we are working towards is on Monday. We have two days to go but with luck on our side we will get there. I am led to believe that for the most part you make your own luck, so I will keep at it!
I like St Mawes. Tomorrow if time allows, I will go for a run. It is seriously up hill from the waterline. A realisation that has not put me off in any way over the last few days.
Obviously.
When I eventually get on deck it rarely disappoints.
26th August 2024: 50 05.906N 5 06.654W: Helford River UK.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,498.9nm.
Slept very well last night and woke feeling like I had been down the gym for a serious workout. It must be due to hanging onto a boat bouncing around at an angle for fifteen hours yesterday.
It’s bank holiday Monday and the Helford River is full of blokes going way too fast on ribs. There are kids on sailboats everywhere and the shaven headed are testosteroneing their way to the pub at twenty knots through the middle of them. It’s going to end badly one day.
Having said that a couple of kids ran their RS Zest straight into EIViVA. SORRY! Hell of a bang from down below but no damage done.
I left EIVIVA swinging at anchor and popped down to the Helford River Sailing Club for a pint (or two) of English ale. It is great to have a pint at 3.8% ABV. In France all ‘beer‘ appears to be about 6% which makes 3 pints impossible at my age if the next day is going to be at all productive. It is also wonderful to be able to understand what people are going on about in the background chat, even if it is in a slightly Cornish version of the Queen’s English.
I have kept it Queen’s English as in my opinion the best monarchs we have ever had have all been women.
Come on Kamala prove that America is great again!
25th August 2024: 50 05.906N 5 06.654W: Helford River UK.
Day Log: 115.6nm. Total Log: 1,498.9nm.
Anchor up at 06:15hrs. A bright half-moon in a clear starry sky illuminated our passage out of the anchorage and on around the rocky cliff lined shore towards the entrance of the notorious Chenal du Four. By the time we arrived at the entrance the eastern sky was turning a predawn orange silhouetting the lighthouse at the Pointe de St Mathieu and I could have a first look at the sea state in the Chenal. In the distance I could see white water where it narrowed and the current became stronger but it didn’t look any worse than the Brest harbour entrance yesterday. The current was running at about four knots, slightly more than the one and a half knots predicted by Navionics so we shot through the gap with wind over tide and some quite sporty overfalls for a couple of miles. One wave in particular dropped EIVIVA a couple of meters into a trough with a huge crash that shook the boat from stem to stern. Then out into the English Channel proper.
The wind today was predicted to blow from the WSW, starting at 10kts gusting 14kts and building by lunch time to 17kts gusting 21kts. In reality, from about 10:00hrs the wind rarely dropped below 20kts and in the afternoon it was blowing 25kts gusting 28kts. I ended up with a reef in the yankee and full main, a sail configuration that I have found works well with the wind at 120 degrees.
The shipping lanes were crowded as usual, the big boats were on the lookout for small boats crossing and adjusted speed and bearing to avoid getting too close, allowing EIVIVA to maintain progress.
In the middle of the afternoon, about halfway across, the sea became rough with large waves rolling in from the west and for a couple of hours I tucked a reef into the mainsail so that the strain was take off the autohelm as it fought to keep us on track. EIVIVA, as always, was taking it all in her stride with a comfortable motion and a relatively smooth and unflustered ride.
We arrived at the Helford River in daylight at 20:00BST, a 15 hour passage covering 115.6NM with an average speed of 7.7kts. Good progress considering the roughness of the sea.
The chicken casserole I produced last night remained tasty even though I had it three meals in a row, dinner last night, lunch today mid Channel and dinner in the Helford River on arrival.
All in all, an epic, knackering but rewarding sail.
Pre-dawn at Pointe St Mathieu
Chenal du Four, start of the rough bit.
Mid-Channel bounce.
24th August 2024: 48 20.578N 4 41.649W: Bretheaume.
Day Log: 9.4nm. Total Log: 1,383.3nm.
The anchor held well overnight now that it didn’t have rope around it. I woke up at 0600hrs to see how much light there was as I am leaving tomorrow at that time to go through the Chenal du Four on slack tide. At 0600hrs it is still dark but by the time I get to the chanel it will be about 0700hrs when there is enough light to see my way.
In the early morning I dived under the boat to see the state of the hull. Apart from the waterline where the sun encourages fast growth it wasn’t bad. A slight film of slime that shouldn’t effect boat speed.
Then I set sail out of Brest harbour for the 9nm trip to Bertheaume. The anchorage is only 4nm from the start of the Chanel du Four making the early start less early and avoiding the adverse tide at the entrance to Brest. Today the current was roaring out of Brest and the wind and waves were coming in creating some amusing and very short interval wind over tide breaking waves. One wave had EIVIVA push her bow through it and a couple would have made your teeth rattle in a boat with a different hull shape. I set out without realising the overfalls would be quite so energetic so I hadn’t stowed everything away, initially there was a lot of stuff flying around below. In the end nothing was broken and no damage done. Tomorrow it could be a lot worse so I will definitely have everything in its sailing place.
Once past the narrow part of the entrance we had a nice sail tacking up to Bretheaume and anchoring in 9m of water off the Anse de Perzel.
The afternoon was spent working. Then I prepared a big chicken casserole for dinner tonight with enough left over for the sail tomorrow.
Sporty overfalls at Brest harbour entrance
20th-23rd August 2024: 48 19.006N 4 32.536W: Cales, Brest.
Day Log: 8.0nm. Total Log: 1,373.9nm.
Another week at the drawing board. My daughter Lucy has been helping this week from Glasgow. I love this virtual office concept.
The weather has been a real mixed bag sun, rain and high winds. The anchor has been slipping slowly for a few days and in the gusts I would move back a meter or two. I didn’t reset it as the water is shallow for a long way down wind, but the alarm has been waking me up quite a lot through the night. When I took it up today there was a line wrapped around the anchor trapping weed so that only a small part of the blade would have been in the mud.
Today I took the morning to drive the boat over to Brest where I anchored outside the naval base breakwater under the shadow of the Naval College and the second world war German U Boat pens, similar to those in St Nazaire except these are the biggest constructed, consisting of 22 pens. The roof is a six meter thick solid reinforced concrete slab.
The purpose of my visit to Brest was to sign out of Europe as I intend to sail across the channel over the weekend and the Douane is not open Saturday and Sunday. I decided to go into Brest central to a supermarket 15 minutes walk away. Brest has huge city walls and a very solid looking castle but in inside the walls everything has been rebuilt since the war. Apparently it the old city was reduced to rubble with no building left standing. The pre-war architects adopted a modernist style that is a more austere version of the architecture of the thirties. The result is a grid city of 5 storey buildings clad in white render with punched windows, resulting in a slightly sterile atmosphere lacking the usual va-va-voom of most French cities.
I am now back at my favourite anchorage for tonight, tomorrow I will start my journey to the UK.
I just went for a run where I reversed the route I did a few weeks ago. I remember running down a hill at the end of the run and thinking at the time that I wouldn’t like to run up it.
I was right, I didn’t.
19th August 2024: 48 19.006N 4 32.536W: Cales, Brest.
Day Log: 66.0nm. Total Log: 1,365.9nm.
There was a chance of early morning fog that had me slightly worried but in the end the day started crystal clear and windless. By 06:15hrs we were motoring under the bridge at Benodet and out into the Bay of Biscay. I rechecked the navigation to discover that I had used an incorrect distance between the anchorage and the Raz de Sein. The last leg between waypoints was 22nm the distance I used where as I should have used 38nm. I had planned to get to the Raz at 10:00hrs when it was slack water and the current started to go north, in the end I made it by 12:30hrs when the current through the gap was five knots. It turned out not to be an issue as the wind direction and sea state was kind, on another day it could have been very interesting.
As a result we zoomed through the Raz with a top SOG of 12.8kts. As I needed to get a shift on I had motor sailed in the slight wind up to this point. The wind was just strong enough from behind to lift the engine fumes into the cockpit which is never a nice experience. Once past the strong currents I launched the spinnaker and had a very pleasant 16nm run to Brest. The wind had picked up to about 12kts and EIVIVA with her clean bottom made good progress.
Brest harbour entrance also has strong currents but they were in our favour and we popped into the estuary at over 9kts. I had taken the spinnaker down before the entrance as I wasn’t sure what the wind would do under the lee of the cliffs that surround it. This was just as well as the wind picked up to 22kts with strong gusts, so the last half hour of the sail was totally different, beating into a stiff breeze on flat water towards the anchorage at Cales. Great fun.
The weather this coming week is looking quite stormy with the promise of 45kt winds. I will stay tucked up here and get some work done until a weather window allows a cross-channel passage.
It is now blowing hard and raining, but I will sleep well tonight whatever the weather.
Winless Benodet 06:15hrs
I put the wooden seat on the bow without fixing it down. I now no longer have a seat.
18th August 2024: 47 53.701N 4 08.028W: River Odet, France.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,299.9nm.
I spent the morning trying to convince Trimble to sell me a new copy of SketchUp. In the end I gave up and phoned Geku who had it sorted in no time. Then worked through to 16:00 when I decided to end the weekend with a run through the woods that surround the River Odet.
The route was narrow, winding through the woods just above the waterline and very delightful. I decided to video my progress, so I ran holding my phone out in front of me glancing down every now and the to ensure that I was pointing it in the right direction. This all went well until I glanced down and promptly tripped over a tree root that sent me sprawling in the dirt. Probably won’t do the video whilst running thing again.
Tomorrow, early start for the Raz de Sein and on to Brest.
17th August 2024: 47 53.701N 4 08.028W: River Odet, France.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,299.9nm.
Yesterday I was having design challenges with the rooftop resort of a residential building we are designing. Nothing was looking good. At four o’clock this morning I woke up and started to worry about it. I managed to get back to sleep at sometime but as a result it was ten o’clock when I finally woke up. After breakfast I headed into Benodet to get some Camping Gas refills. 27 euro each! In Kinsale I was charged 58 euro, Shoreham 47 quid. Carrefour supermarket is the place to go in Europe!
After lunch on board I headed to Quimper 8nm up the river Odet. Quimper did not disappoint, once I was in the medieval centre it was unspoilt by the ravages of war with streets that would have been the same four or five hundred years ago. The gothic cathedral has spectacular twin towers that would have taken generations of stone masons to complete. I was expecting the same extravagance on the inside but it was quite simple, perhaps the towers were designed when the craze was high gothic and the inside designed to earlier styles. It is the first cathedral I have visited where the stone details are painted as they would have been originally.
I did a quick circuit of Quimper as I had left the tender tied to a railing next to a travelling funfair where there were many dodgy looking people lurking around. Can you lurk around or do you just lurk? Anyway, I didn’t fancy walking back so American tour.
I know you are wondering whether the outboard misbehaved on a 16nm round trip. It was better than it has been but it was still buggering about. As it is better than it was I hope I am on the right track with the fuel supply. The only things left in the fuel supply chain that I haven’t checked are the fuel pump, the switch that turns on the fuel and the filter in the remote tank. But I got back OK as once it starts to run it works at 90% for ten minutes or so before cutting out.
It’s Saturday evening and I am sitting in a river side bar writing this enjoying a Tommy no mates beer. I can feel the urge to get home. On Monday I will get to Brest and sign out of Europe when a suitable weather window occurs. Depending on the wind I will either aim for Falmouth or possibly Alderney. Both about the same distance.
River Odet on the way to Quimper
Quimper, medieval wonderfulness.
Cathedrale Saint Corentin with its twisted nave.
12th-16th August 2024: 47 53.701N 4 08.028W: River Odet, France.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,299.9nm.
A week of long workdays, up and going by 0800hrs and rarely finished by 2000hrs. Geku and I have fallen into a good working rhythm our strengths complimenting each other as they have done for the last 28 years.
The anchorage here on the River Odet is very quiet and peaceful. Surrounded by trees with egrets and heron wading the riverbanks. The river is wide enough to not unsettle the boat when others pass by on the water. A good a place to sit in front of a computer as anywhere.
The outboard engine has occupied any free moments I have had. The power loss symptoms suggest a fuelling problem, so I removed the carb and took out all the jets and gave it a good clean. There didn’t appear to be any blockage, so I put it back and zoomed up the river. All going well, then just before the road bridge about 800m from the boat it did the same thing again. Bugger. This got me thinking as it always starts to play up just before the bridge. Perhaps this is the distance when the carb float bowl empties due to low fuel delivery. Hmmm. Just before the carb is the fuel filter, I had already checked it but it might semi clogged and restricting the flow. Took it out and put a piece of pipe in its place. Zoomed around without issue for half an hour. The engine now had a new fuel filter and, touch wood, is running as it should.
On one of my outboard test runs on Wednesday I noticed that the marina just under the bridge had an empty visitors pontoon. I took EIVIVA over and spent the night. 50 euro excluding power! I filled up with water washed the decks and did my laundry. Then back on my anchorage by 0900 Thursday to start work.
The week started sunny but has rained continually for the last three days. I managed to fully charge the batteries in the marina but the computer I have is a power hungry graphics monster and demand a lot of current when it is rendering. I might have to double my solar panel size for next year’s cruise as in this cloudy weather the one I have cannot keep up.
Tomorrow the wind is not good for Brest so I might take the tender up river to Quimper and have a gander.
Carb cleaning in the kitchen.
Drizzle. August in Brittany.
A new fuel filter and it will be good.
11th August 2024: 47 53.701N 4 08.028W: River Odet, France.
Day Log: 57.2nm. Total Log: 1,299.9nm.
The world started to bounce around at 04:30hrs. I was expecting it earlier as the wind was due to change direction just after midnight and expose the so far peaceful anchorage. I was allowed to sleep in I guess, but it woke me up all the same. The first part of the passage today required navigating through a small gap between two islands with numerous rocks, shoals and lobster pots. Best attempted when I could see where I was going. At 0630 there was enough light to go, so up with the anchor and out with the sails.
We successfully negotiated the difficult bit and lined up to take Ile de Groix to the south and on towards our destination, the river Odet that flows into the sea at Benodet. What a joy to have a clean bottom. EIVIVA has so much wetted area that any fouling makes a noticeable difference to boat speed. I was a happy sailor.
The wind shifted from a beam reach where we were holding our own against the other boats to 170 degrees off the wind. Up with the kite! Obviously this had nothing to do with the hoards of French boats closing on me. EIVIVA held her own! Then the wind died and the spinnaker collapsed. Only 14nm To go so engine on.
I managed to find a spot to anchor upriver of Benodet. Then headed into town for a beer. Half way to the town the skies darkened and a stab of lightning hit the forest that surrounds the anchorage not far from the boat. The instantaneous crash of thunder had my ears ringing. Then so much rain that it had me laughing with the enormity of it all. Then the engine played up again. I crawled onto a moored boat and sheltered under the sprayhood. A moment later, as if nothing had happened, it was sunny again and the engine started working. I assume some demigod was trying to stop me having a beer. I rebelled and pressed on to the bar where l am writing this.
If there are no more (B)logs you know it got me on the way back.
Pink sails in the morning sailors…….whatever.
River Odet, I made it back.
10th August 2024: 47 29.610N 3 06.365W: Port Haliguen, France.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,242.7nm.
Very nice bottle of wine indeed.
I slept until 0900hrs! Then feeling guilty I jumped out of bed and spent the morning cleaning the inside of the boat and getting her ready for sailing tomorrow. In the afternoon I dived the hull and wiped off the mist of new growth. It came off easily, the whole hull done in under an hour. On the Coppercoat there was about 2mm of sparce thin growth on the first part of the hull I cleaned two weeks ago. On the bare metal of the rudder strap and the propeller it was 15mm long and becoming thicker after only a week.
The photograph was taken at about 6 o’clock in the morning just before sun rise when I went to get some water to drink. The wind stayed non existent all day. Tomorrow starting at 0100hrs we should get the first wind from the NE for two weeks so we are getting up with the sun and heading NW up the coast towards the river estuary at Benodet 60nm away.
Spectacular pre dawn majesty.
7th to 9th August 2024: 47 29.610N 3 06.365W: Port Haliguen, France.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,242.7nm.
There really isn’t much point in doing a (B)log every day. Especially when my day consists of getting up at 0700hrs and working until 1800hrs. Its just as well I love my work, the days fly past.
I find myself sitting in front of my computer without moving anything but my fingers for hours on end. In the office we had a cuckoo clock with a horse in it that whinnied very loudly every hour as a signal for everyone to get up and walk around. In the end no one heard it. it was quiet amusing when it went off in the background during a meeting, there was always a silence on the other end of the phone whilst they considered the implications.
I went for a run Wednesday evening and again this evening. In the UK when people see a runner running towards them or hear one coming up behind they move over to let you past. In France they put their noses in the air and just keep going. Must be a cultural thing, I guess it’s why they don’t do very well at the Olympics. I might take the fog horn with me next time and blow them out of the way!
Its Friday and I have been abstemious all week. I just paid 18 euro for a bottle of 2018 Margaux . I checked the price in the UK £35 if you purchase a box of 12.
I will enjoy it now.
6th August 2024: 47 29.610N 3 06.365W: Port Haliguen, France.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,242.7nm.
Last night I got into bed at about ten thirty. Before I went to sleep I checked the tides to see when it would be a good time to dive for my specs in the morning. I hadn’t realised that the old part of the harbour, where they fell into the water, dried out on the charts at low tide. I found that it was low tide at 0100hrs and low enough at 23:30hrs, in about half an hour. I climbed out of bed and took the tender back over to the harbour. It is only one nautical mile, but the night was inky black with no moon to light the way and there were a number of rocks marked by unilluminated poles along the way. Slow going.
I parked on a floating pontoon and walked to the old harbour. I hadn’t realised that there was a sill at the entrance that kept some water in the basin, enough to float the boats. Arriving at the point where I dropped my glasses, I was relieved to find that there was only about three feet of water. My head torch easily illuminated the bottom through the clear water, two large crabs and my specs! I had brought along the bit of kit I use to pick up things that drop into impossible spaces, plunger on one end of a flexible tube with grabber on the other. Mission accomplished.
Halfway back to the boat the outboard engine coughed, spluttered and the oil light went out. I switched it off and decided to row the last half mile. After ten minutes Navionics was telling me that I was slowly going out to sea, away from the boat. I tentatively started the engine, and the oil light came on as it should. Phew. Then very slowly navigated my way back towards EIVIVA’s anchor light. That could have been interesting extension to the evening.
Crikey, yesterday evening was eventful, first ear pods, then specs, then engine.
Spent today working. It gives me something to keep my mind occupied until the wind stops blowing from the NW and I can head up the coast towards Blighty.
5th August 2024: 47 29.610N 3 06.365W: Port Haliguen, France.
Day Log: 0.0nm. Total Log: 1,242.7nm.
It’s Monday and so it’s a day of WKA. I woke early and got stuck into it. Starlink is great, it’s no different to the last 40 odd years except there is no commuting to an office every day. We keep finding good people that we knew from the past that are now independent and willing to help us out. I think it is the way forwards, time will tell.
In the evening I took the tender to Port Haliguen (Google took a lot of convincing it wasn’t a light bulb). There is a decent supermarket here within walking distance of the jetty. I stocked up. There was a large smoked pork joint for seven euro that I snapped up only to find that it was eighteen euro a the checkout. Big enough to feed me for a week, it is going to test my culinary skills towards the end.
Unusually for me I was feeling a little far from it all today. It’s not lonely really as I stopped feeling like that many years ago, it’s more alone and far away. It will pass.
I dropped an air pod then stood on it, in itself not a major incident, but it is what I use to listen to everything. I bent it back into shape so that it fits into the pod thingie. Hopefully it will charge up.
Then getting into the tender my glasses fell into the water. I will dive for them tomorrow. If I can’t get them it is going to be a problem.
On the positive side the web site is running fast again, but it has gone a little out of focus.
Keely was running fast too!
4th August 2024: 47 29.610N 3 06.365W: Port Haliguen, France.
Day Log: 16.9nm. Total Log: 1,242.7nm.
We left the Gulfe of Morbihan at 09:30hrs on a falling tide taking the western route to the exit of the harbour. It is not spring tides today but there was one gap between two islands where I had the engine in tickover to give steerage with about 2 kts of boat speed, our speed over ground was 10.2kts! I kept well away from other boats as keeping a straight course in the swirling water was exciting. We shot out of the narrow entrance still doing 7.5kts with the engine at lowest revs. No going back and nothing coming the other way.
Once again there was no wind at all, so I kept the engine revs low and chugged peacefully along in the sun. We anchored 8.1nm away on the other side of the Quiberon Bay next to Port Haliguen.
After lunch I dived the hull again and an hour later, WE HAVE A CLEAN BOTTOM! I do like a clean bottom. I will pop down again and do a good job of the propeller and bow thruster, but the big work is done. I will keep it clean now, that was a big job.
Port Haliguen Marina, 50 euro a night. Or free just over here.