Saturday, June 27, 2009

A Bit Biscay

Ahoy,
well the Ol' Girl saw me safely across Biscay, 321 nautical miles in one jump. That was four nights and five days at sea(a day longer due to issue). It was very tiring, exciting, challenging, tiring, amusing, frustrating, rewarding and did I mention tiring?
Having left Groix in very favourable conditions it did not take long for the weather to give me a little test. One night the winds gusted at 35 knots and one of the slugs on the main sail snapped, I was already fully reefed, I said a few choice words to the sea and carried on.
The sight of the sea and stars were completely awe inspiring, alas I only had brief glimpses of Dolphins.
Sleep was an interesting notion, I did not sleep at night and only cat napped in the day. Even in the days when I would party for three days, what a long time ago that feels now, I would not have been as tired. Maybe all those years ago helped in some way, that's my story and I am sticking to it.
I had no luck fishing, as it was I had plenty of tinned Mackerel anyway, having said this I mainly survived on Earl Gray tea, Haribo and fruit cake.
As I neared the coast of Spain, looking forward to a later berth and some sleep the *?$%ing engine overheated, to say I was a little despondent is quite an understatement. After warning the coast guard the Ol' Girl had limited maneuverability and requesting he told all the other ships, I set to work, firstly making a cup of tea to calm me down and then finding the problem, the impeller was fine but the thermostat did seem a little sticky. After many hours hove to, bobbing about I crossed my fingers and hit start, she worked, with a loss of power but she worked.
We carried on to Nauta Coruna, a very swanky marina with a great yard crew and a very lovely manager called Maria, I think we may go for a Mojito somewhere, I am not sure what she thinks though as she does not know yet.
I am going to get some of the people I know to have a whip round towards the engine parts and what might be a little longer stay than I expected. I do not want to do the "Coast of Death" in Maria's words, with a wonky engine, the Ol' Girl and me have all the wonky we can handle as it is.
So, over the next few days I will buy a beer for a Volvo mechanic in exchange for a master class on what to take off and put back on the engine and then attempt to follow his instructions, do some laundry, stock the boat up and get ready to head further south.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Au Revoir Groix







Ahoy,






the Ol, Girl is ready and I think I am too. Everything seems to be working well for now and even though I would like to stay in Groix for the summer, I would like even more to accomplish my passage across the Bay. This morning I met up with Capitaine Yvon Raude, who during my stay here has helped every step of the way, I wish I new a little more French so I could have had a proper conversation with him. Another of the Port de Groix crew is Marc Caradec and between the two you will feel as welcome and supported as it is possible to feel.



As I have already said I will miss Groix and all of the wonderful friends I have made, I will not dare to try and mention everyone for fear of forgetting someone and murdering the spelling.
We leave this afternoon as in the inner pontoons which are gated, high water for the Ol' Girl is a must.
My contact address at sea is nomadadventure@mailasail.com and I will get it linked to www.nomadadventure.org
Au Revoir, it should be Hola next.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Tricky Fin?

Ahoy,

tomorrow may well be one of the trickiest tasks so far, as I will be on a pontoon, I have decided to invite all those who have assisted me in my time on Groix to a small glass of wine, pate and maybe some improvised shish kebabs. Now as it is, that will be tricky enough, as my mind is working overtime at the moment on the angles regarding the Biscay crossing, yet I have decided to make it even more difficult and, here it comes, NOT drink! To anyone that knows me, I like a social tipple, damn it, I like any kind of tipple, so tomorrow is going to be quite difficult. A true test of my resolve.
All is looking good at the moment, of course the weather may change and so may the due date. I am sticking with the predictions on Passage Weather and nothing seems to have changed since yesterday. (switching to UGrib on the passage)
The Ol' Girl now has a full tank of diesel, twelve large bottles of water, loads of tinned food, plenty of cake, sweets and chocolate, it should last four to eight days. I don't know at the moment why it may take eight days, of course I never know much.
Everybody is to cross everything for me.
Yahoo, I have just received confirmation of airtime, thank you Graham and thanks also to Mark at SatCom and Ed at MailaSail, without such contributions this little adventure would be completely impossible.....

Thursday, June 18, 2009

No pain in the AIS!

Ahoy,

the AIS returned in the post today, I fitted it and to my relief and surprise it's working fine. I now have no idea what was wrong, the company I bought it from said the old one was working fine on the test bench, must be Gremlins or some such thing.
I am going to spend tomorrow night on a Pontoon, use of water and power and then leave the following day.
All that remains before I shoot the Bay so to speak, is sort out the Sat stuff, buy plenty of bottled water, tinned food, biscuits and the like, while resting as much as possible in Belle Ile.
It looks as though there is some bad weather a couple of days away on the knuckle of Northern Spain, so I will wait to see what is does before the Ol' Girl and I commit ourselves.
I have had some joy playing with a short wave radio and a Navtex program on the computer, maybe by the time I'm in southern Spain it will be spot on.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Three Party Time

Ahoy,

fanbloodytastic, the Ol' Girl has third party cover all the way down to the Canaries. That by itself is better news than I had expected, however, what really puts the icing on the cake is that Ol' HNJ supplied it, contrary to there original view. I have no idea why they changed their position, I am just very grateful they have. So everything is back on course so to speak, all that remains to be done in Groix is fit the new AIS, when it arrives, stock up on provisions and wave this very beautiful and sympathetic island farewell.
I also have two ongoing projects to give me something to think about, making my own Navtex weather receiver to link into my PC and learn how to sail with the Hydrovane. I cant decide which will be easier, I hope the latter will be, as having a virtual second mate that gets its energy from the wind will help a lot.
So I'm now off to check the post, I hope the AIS has arrived and works when I re-fit it.
Blast, no post today, maybe tomorrow, at least the cool Captain here seems to be very understanding, despite the money he is not making out of me, what a top chap.
Now it's time to do some research on Baiona.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Party Time?

Ahoy,

just a quick update, tomorrow I find out if I have third party insurance for Spain and Portugal, maybe even the Canaries?!?
This would enable the Ol' Girl and me to continue, of course if anything should happen I would lose everything. As I live on the Ol' Girl, even my dearly departed Grandmothers Teaspoons would be lost. It will be, I hope, a minor nagging worry in the back of my mind, no point in dwelling on it as I do not find out till tomorrow.

No Cover

Ahoy,

even though life is great, there maybe trouble ahead.
Not only has my AIS still not arrived despite paying extra postage, the lead I thought I had on insurance cover has fallen flat. No Cover and no cover means big problems for continuing with this adventure.
I had hoped that I would have sorted this insurance issue out by now, it seems that insurance for singlehanders is not possible in today's market, risk assessment and all that. It is a heavy blow as I have made it this far. The possibility that I can take on crew is still an option, it will not be easy as most people that crew want to be paid or want to sail in bigger posher boats.
As soon as the AIS arrives I will try Belle Ile and see if my current insurers have had a change of heart.
For now, me and the Ol' Girl are not happy.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Le Poste Traumatic

Ahoy,

After a morning of hitchhiking and all the effort of murdering the French language, yet again, I have made a discovery, my AIS for the boat has still not arrived at the Poste.
Gutted, even though the weather is beautiful and more people have promised to make pledges to http://www.nomadadventure.org/ I have been here so long, even with the congenial and sympathetic nature of the Harbour Master, at some point human nature must surely force him to think that my extended stay at a Bon Prix is extracting some urine.
Anyway, I am going to try and stay away from such negativity and focus on reading all about the Hydrovane and making sure anything that could fall off, isn't going to. From what I have read so far it's all about sail trim, so the poor little machine is going to be a little shell shocked by the way I sail, I am hoping it will teach me as we go along?!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Hydro Brain

Ahoy,

the Ol'Girl has a fitted Hydrovane, the fitting was done whilst a passenger ferry came and went repeatedly twenty meters away and I was sat in a dingy for the most part of two days, scratching my head, cussing and staring at the plans like the simpleton I am, trying to work out the best way to do it. Such minor grumbles out the way, I am moderately pleased with the result, I have not tested it out at sea yet but it seems level and strong just not pretty. A bit like the Ol' Girl. Many thanks to John and Tina on Sunbird and to John and Will at Hydrovane for providing information suitable for the Ol' Girl.
As yet I have still not heard back from any insurers, it's more than frustrating now, I would like to know one way or the other, is the mission due another delay because of insurance or will one of them come through. Working on the Ol' Girl from the dingy has worn my brain, my legs and my back out a little bit, so I'm going to keep this brie.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Ol' Couple

Ahoy,

I think I am an old man now and if not I am on the way.
Now at forty years of age I wonder if I will ever grow up. I hope not.
The other day I heard that wisdom overcomes adversity, they did not say where I could get a small bottle of wisdom from, if anyone knows, please let me know. In the next week I hope to be in Belle Ile getting ready for the passage to Baiona. At the moment I am researching fitting methods for the Hydrovane and measuring up on the transom, with I confess a little anxiety as I do not want to start drilling holes in the Ol' Girl and discover they are incorrectly placed. Drilling holes in a boat is fraught with worry as it is, I hope it will not be a Hypo strain and I am not too Hypo vain?!
I think I have the measure of it so to speak and will crack on after lunch.
Now, I dare not say too much or un-cross my fingers but I may have found a company willing to insure me for the coast of Spain and Portugal, maybe even to Gran Can?(everything crossed at this point)
Another thing I am hoping for a little of the best fortune with is the gift of the C-Map charts for my chart plotter, they are soooooo expensive, and I am out of the range of the ones I bought in Plymouth, so I have asked the producers for a little help (now asking others to cross things).
Now it's time for a healthy lunch before getting to grips with a tape measure, drill etc. in a dingy at the back of the Ol' Girl.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Pain in the AIS, No it's a Wonderful Life.

Ahoy,

there are two events which occur occasionally in my life which always make me wish I had either had a better education or had paid more attention during it. The first is when I have a problem that I know trigonometry would solve and the second is when I am failed in a suitable turn of phrase or expression of thanks to strangers who are so kind, one wonders if they can also turn Demons into Angels.
The latter of these scenarios happened only the other day, I was invited to dinner on Sunbird, a Rival 36 owned by John and Tina, this by itself, to someone who shares his own company more often than not is heart warming enough but when John offered me Sunbird's Hydrovane I could not find the words to express the level of overwhelming gratitude and lightness of heart I felt. I have been told many a time I should have one and understanding the benefit after such recommendations I have wanted one for the Ol' Girl for quite some time.
The ability Hydrovane's have to hold a course and use no power other than the wind, whilst also providing an emergency rudder makes them a very desirable and practical piece of equipment. Equipment I had dreamt of owning somehow and here I was being offered the very piece of equipment the Ol' Girl required and I fantasised about in my slumber. Of course, I thanked them both, yet the words seemed lacking in regard to their philanthropic kindness, like shaking someones hand who pulls you out of the way of a moving car. I hope I see them again, I want to see them again. Thank them again.

How strange the world is, I would not have been here to visit Sunbird if my AIS had not broken, the reason why I am still in the Ile de Groix, I posted it on the 2nd of June and have called the company involved every day, to discover it had still not arrived. Today, better news, it was at said company waiting for the engineer to look at it, I hope it can be fixed and posted back quickly as I really would like to push on, more finger crossing. (I would also not want to take advantage of the Bon Prix the Harbour Master is giving me)

The festival here is over now and things have become a little quieter, I ventured out one evening with one of the fine bands doing the circuit here "Le Tenor de Brest" and enjoyed the music and the company till the sun came up, very tiring, very different, very entertaining and very, very, worth it. (not to mention falling in a ditch, you guessed it, that's a story for another time)

The mission for the next few days is to fit the Hydrovane, re-fit the AIS, find an insurance company willing to insure me, tidy the Ol' Girl up and head off for Belle Ile, possibly my last stop before Spain.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Defi des Ports de Peche

Ahoy,
as the festival here on the Ile de Groix gathers pace for the weekend, yet again
I have been very fortunate in the people I have met. Whilst hitch hiking the other day, as taxi's are expensive, I could never have guessed that it would be the Mayor of the island that would offer a well timed lift. We embarked on a short and interesting trip round his family's part of the island before I was returned to Port Tudy and we had a couple of beers. I can not be sure of why but that evening whilst deciding to have a quick beer in the Port, people seemed even more friendly than they had been, which would have seemed impossible at an earlier time and offered me many beers, which on the grounds of being a polite guest I felt I could not refuse. As I said I do not know why but I have my suspicions.
This quite excellent atmosphere is due to carry on till the 7th of June, I am disappointed my stay here is due to equipment failure, although it's probably the best time to be here in any case.
The comings and goings of a few English boats has been of great interest, alas one of them Felice has now left and Andy and Pam will be missed.
The clock is ticking as far as my 40th Birthday is concerned, I do not feel too negative about it at the moment, whether this will change on the day I have no idea, I hope I will feel as I do now, that I am a very fortunate person and despite not being able to see my family and friends I know they are with me anyway.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Ile de Groix

Ahoy,
the Ol' Girl and me are in the island of Groix. We have arrived as a boat show for racing types is about to kick off. The Captain of the Port has given me a sweet deal so I can stay long enough to sort out some vital post. As I approached Groix and saw a very large ferry coming out of the Port it struck me as strange that my NASA AIS did not alert me to its presence, I soon discovered that's because its stuffed, kaput, knackered and definitely not working. I may well encounter many more large vessels (not beer, boo hoo) in the area and a heads up, the likes of which the AIS should give, feels important as I am on my own, any assistance looking out helps dramatically. I immediately called the supplier who is going to take a look, I hope the UK postal service does not let me down. The Ol'Girl and me are still having problems with insurance, if I have to take on crew to counter this I will, finding them will be the tricky bit.

Arfer O'Det

Ahoy,
the Ol' Girl and me are about to leave Benodet. I have repaired her main sail and bought a copy of Bloc Marine, it has charts all the way down to Gibraltar. Next stop Lorient, maybe Ile de Groix. Benodet is a very pretty place, unfortunately apart from some very expensive shops in the Marina everything is up a rather steep hill and the super market is too far away for a visit, meaning the Ol' Girl's supplies are running low, Lorient cant come soon enough. It's another beautiful day, temperatures likely to be around twenty eight to twenty nine degrees centigrade.