2003 Cruising - Part 1
Channel Isles, Brittany and Biscay
Dixcart Bay, Sark - 31st July 2003
Dixcart Bay anchorage from the beach at low tide
Well here on Ramprasad we have made a bit of a start to our trip - With unsettled SWesterley conditions we haven't made progress as quickly as I might have liked but all things considered the crew have been settling in well and learning the ropes satisfactorily. Here in Dixcart Bay it is perhaps my favorite Channel Island anchorage - often a secluded spot sheltered by high rocky cliffs - we arrived here yesterday afternoon after a lively trip from Alderney in a WSW 5-6 - 2 reefs in the main and No2 Genoa - the crew were impressed by the size and steepness of the waves in the Swinge ( - at the start of the Westerly ebb) and Sam's WMD registered around 6ft-8ft and as many of you will know this is by no means exeptional for somewhere with the reputation of the Swinge. Inevitably some of the bigger ones timed it right to come aboard but the trusty sprayhood deflected the worst of them. Once clear of the Garden Rocks and the Pierre au Vraic we could bear away for the East side of Sark and hand steering with some anticipation was necessary. Indeed Lorraine steered for most of the way and coped well all things considered. Going ashore in the Calypso dinghyand beach landing for the first time was fun - we had a good walk around some of the island and found a pub well frequented by locals but Jamie and myself were not so impressed by the choice of beer there as we had been in Alderney where the Coronation in St Anne's served us a very fine pint produced by the Guernsey brewery. We were surprised to see flags at half mast but were informed that this was due to the death of an elderly and well-respected resident whose funeral yesterday had been attended by most of the island's population. Finding a different way back to our beach we enjoyed a little window shopping and then found the Dixcart Bay hotel where the chidren's room was finely decorated with scenes from Captain Pugwash!
Back on the beach the tide had risen fast in our absence so I was glad that we had taken the precaution of carrying the dinghy well up the beach to the HW mark AND used the dinghy anchor. In the increased swell launching was bound to be a dampening experience but all went well apart from the inevitable wet shorts. From here it'll be another walk around Sark this morning then probably a trip over to St Peter Port this afternoon.
8th August 2003 - approaching La Corunna
Since my last missive from Guernsey we have have a nice little cruise stopping at 3 places in Brittany. Our trip from Guernsey to Ile de Batz (82 miles) was pretty windless and we motored all the way. Eric the Perky having got us all that way we decided it was time to give him a rest and look at somewhere new - so we entered the canal de l'Ile de Batz between Men Guen Bras (off Roscoff) and Ar Chaden and proceeded swiftly with a following tide to anchor off Port Kernoch from where we took the dinghy ashore to the ferry landing slipway and had a very pleasant Sunday afternoon strolling around this small Breton island. It has a population of just less than 600 - appears to have a no cars rule (like Sark) - cycles were easy to hire but not really necessary for a visit like ours. It has a good tall lighthouse and many rocks all the way around and small scale horticulture in a sandy soil which included small fields of fennel and quite a few horses.
Ar Chaden and a couple of views of the drying harbour on the Ile de Batz
The lighthouse on Ile de Batz is surrounded by small farms
Quite a beautiful island!
Next morning there was quite a decent Easterly breeze but by the time we got going it had eased off to require us to motor-sail for the first couple of hours. But we were pleased to have a visit from a school of common dolphins and Conny went in for a swim with them but appeared to have frightened them all off by diving in (-I don't think they had anything to fear from him since they could certainly swim a lot faster but perhaps they didn't like the look of him!)
Soon afterwards we got a Northerley breeze and could turn the engine off and had a good sail to and right up to the moorings in L'Aber Wrac'h. We entered through the Chenal de la Malouine having identified the transit of the Petit Pot de Beurre and the Iles de la Croix positively before committing ourselves to the entry through the gap between rocks of quite a forbidding appearance. Sails down we secured to a visitors mooring buoy and went ashore for a shower, drink and a walk.
Next morning visibility seemed a bit murky but with light winds the forecast seemed OK for a passage through the Chenal du Four. We slipped the mooring and had had not proceeded far when the vis deteriotated - we had seen one British yacht go out and come back and there was another at anchor in the Channel. Well we had the GPS programmed with all the waypoints and what did I get a radar for if it wasn't for Fog navigation! so we continued and vis reduced to 50 yards at times. A smaller French yacht (with no radar) overtook us as we were approaching the Petit Pot de Beurre, appeared to be intending to turn right to go out of the Chenal de la Malouine, then decided to turn back and follow us instead. We proceeded out past the Grand Pot de Beurre (which we didn't see at just over 100 yards and the final l'Aber Wrac'h West Cardinal "Libenter" also not seen. We carried on motoring in the fog past the rocks and wreck off Portsall, past Le Four lighthouse, past St Paul and St Pierre and then eventually at Grand Vinotiere got better vis and could see the Pointe de Kermovan and Le Conquet. From there on to the Pointe de St Mathieu where we rounded Les Vieux Moines (the old nuns?) and turned left for the Pointe de Toulinguet and then into Camaret where we anchored. We went out to get postcards and ended up eating Pizza in a restaurant and next morning went into the marina to get diesel. I was however rather surprised to be the focus of so much attention from members of the queue when having paid for the diesel I came out of the office!
As I now write 2 days into our crossing of Biscay I can report that we had a good first 24 hours of progress with a NWley breeze giving us about 120 miles but with fog all night long which led to a rather tired skipper and a rather low battery from much radar operation but yesterday evening the breeze eased off almost entirely and we were down to 1.5 knots at 2300 before Eric the Perky was started and batteries were recharged and we had a fine clear night but there is still SO LITTLE wind that Eric murmurs on ( Yes I'm sure that those who know Eric think that it's a bit louder than a mere murmur!) even 15 hours later! We still have occasional fog patches but there is very little shipping at just over 100 miles from La Coruna.
Now 6 miles from Punta Candelaria, 13 miles from Cabo Prior and about 25 miles from La Corunna - again a very calm and fairly foggy night - cleared up now but Spain still not seen! Just got in between 2 container ships motoring at top speed along the coast - we did not press our right of way but slowed down and turned to Starboard! La Corunna seems to be our destination since an internet shop seems to be needed by more than one member of the crew and Jamie needs to pick up post at the main Post Office ( that'll have to wait. Yesterday evening we saw 2 groups of large whales - the first at 1840 by majority vote probably a pair of Orcas, the second almost certainly a single Minke. In the calm we have now been motoring continuously for almost 36 hours and Eric the Perky will deserve rather more than just a few kind words and a round of applause when we finally stop ( - perhaps even an oil change and a new oil filter!)
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