Pull On What?

Ups & Downs make for many Rounds

2010-02-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

Ahoy,

so the Ol' Girl did good and delivered me to the Caribbean. Leaving Gomera was no easy feat as I was beginning to realise just how little I knew about sailing and how much I had to learn, in fact as I had started so late in life it was unlikely that I would ever be able to make much of a dent in my ignorance. Add to this the friends I had made and a love of the Canaries, leaving was not as straight forward mentally as I had imagined.
Just before my departure local and distant friends really came through and helped with getting the Ol' Girl ready, new lines were required (thanks Mark) and so much help provisioning the Ol' Girl that I actually put weight on rather than losing it as I had first thought.(so much for being on the beach with a six pack)
Everyone I had met it seemed were out in force to see me off(or make sure I left) which put me in such a good mood I managed to leave the Marina in quite a tidy fashion, unlike my arrival, that's a sea story for another time.
After around twenty miles the wind dropped so much that I pretty much stayed where I was for around nine hours, not the best start. By the early hours of the morning the wind had picked up again and I was on my way,the first and the last three days were the hardest, the first because I had to get used to my own company again and the last because I was fed up with my own company and very, very tired.
The passage was more amazing than I could ever have thought, it was not without it's troubles and I am sure the Ol' Girl cursed me more than once, we had a strange encounter with a Turtle, which I am happy to say seemed all well and good afterwards, the foresail halyard snapped meaning we had the use of only one sail which meant we lost a lot of miles every twenty four hours(around forty at best) which frustrated me for a couple of days as the Ol' Girl and I started talking to the World service, all this aside, it was very exciting.
In the end the crossing took twenty seven days and I did not see signs of any other vessel's for twenty three days, which is the longest I have ever gone without seeing human life.
Thankfully SatCom had supplied me with a sat phone so I could have very short conversations with friends and family, which really helped with not feeling too isolated, despite being totally isolated.
As I approached land I tried the radio and picked up some FM stations, Reggae Christmas tunes, I felt so happy.
By the time I rounded Pigeon Island and dropped the anchor I was so relieved I do not remember any other thoughts I had.
In fact I fell into such a deep sleep its a miracle I didn't wet the bed.
I awoke feeling so happy and full of life that part of me wondered immediately where to go in the future and if it would ever compare and if truth be told I am considering longer passages despite having fallen in love with St. Lucia.
This beautiful little Island will always be special of course, like a first love, I arrived here with the eyes of love after being alone for so long.
Talking of the being alone bit, the only real negative that I can think of was not during the trip but afterwards, which has only just stopped, the heavy drinking, thankfully I am not doing it now but for many weeks sheer disbelief, excitement, relief and being surrounded by people having a party caused me to become a pro am barfly, something that I hope I have got out of my system now.
All in all not too bad a side effect for a novice sailor I think.
So to sum it up, the stars, the solitude and the incredible feeling of freedom will always be with me and maybe always be for the best in everything that I intend to do in the future.
Now that I am back in the real world I have so much to do, Emails, boat maintenance and many thank you notes to so many people.

Next comes pictures and future plans.

All So Soon

2009-11-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

Ahoy,

it's all a bit stressful at the moment. The intention is to leave in 72 hours and there is still so much to do.
Life always seems to find a way to redefine one's plans, at the moment my bank seems to have an issue, the Ol' Girl needs feeding and watering and right now the cupboards are bare. I am confident that everything will be ok for the off, my plan was to be busy up to the point of leaving, this it seems will not be a problem.
The Ol' Girl it has to be said is feeling less worried about the crossing than myself, my belief in the Ol' Girl and our partnership is not too much of an issue, my ability to cope with my own company for thirty days is. I will have plenty to do everyday and very occasionally I will be able to phone some family and friends, a few minutes a week is possible, anymore and I will be in danger of not having myself any air time in case of emergency, I may be able to send receive email, all this aside I will probably grow tired of my own company and probably learn too much about myself.
Another thing that is lowering my spirits at the moment is having to say goodbye to yet more excellent people and another beautiful island with only the unknown spreading out before me.

Castillo

2009-11-03T07:12:00.000-08:00

Ahoy,

as promised some pictures of my dear friends in Castillo, together with some very wise words.

Dreams are dreams only if you sleep

Now a new sun is coming

A sun that you have never seen

Open your eyes,

stand up and look around.

Now you know.

Be calm, think and learn,

and most important,

enjoy.

Always remember:

you can do it.

Good luck my friend.

Capt. Andres

Stay Positive

2009-11-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

Ahoy,

a break from the Blog seems over. It is true the Ol' Girl and I have not known what to say for some time now. Some of the time no WiFi caused this, however,most of the time I had no idea what to say.

We are meeting and having to say farewell to so many like minded and kind people that this is something I would have tried to mentally prepare for before leaving the UK. I have realised that it is a part of sailing life, and it is more difficult than we ever imagined it could or, would be.

Add to this some concerns about the single handed crossing and a personnel financial crisis just before leaving, not to mention not doing as well as I had hoped in the fund raising department, all this combined left me feeling I did not have much to say.

As I have said before in the absence of light only darkness remains, if I had not had the help from the people I have met along the way as well as some family and friends from my past this adventure would have been left in the dark long ago, despite what I have accomplished on my own, without the better people of the world I think I would have failed already.

These two weeks before the crossing will be a most challenging time, I have to fill the Ol' Girl with, food, water and more water, sort out some spares and stay positive, not to mention try and raise more awareness as far as the fund raising is concerned.

High Pitched after Castillation

2009-10-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

firstly I am very sorry for having not updated this for a little while and for not supplying the pictures as promised.

To say I miss everyone at Castillo is an understatement, they treated me like I was one of the family, they made sure I went for nothing. Alas I am no longer in their most excellent company, possibly feeling that the best of the best are to my rudder. I wish to return one day, should I make it in one piece on the next part of the adventure.

At the moment I am in Gran Canaria and we have had mixed receptions. How long we stay is quite debatable, we should continue West.(of course I am a little soft after the comfort of Castillo)

Unfortunately this must be brief as battery low, I will update with some beautiful pictures of my friends in Castillo the first chance I get.

Between a Rock and a Nice Place

2009-09-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

so the Ol' Girl and me headed off to find an anchorage for the night before trying to find a place at another Marina. Just off the point of Papagayo in Lanzarote we found a sheltered bay with a few other boats and dropped anchor. During the day for a break I have enjoyed being at anchor, this was the first true test of the anchor alarm at night and I decided just to take brief naps, rather than risk slipping anchor and waking up on the rocks.

Morning arrived slowly and all was well until I had to weigh the anchor, the chain had become rather attracted to a rock, so, swimming gear on and a quick dip was the order of the day.

That issue dealt with I headed off to Fuerteventura( thanks for the chart John) the Ol' Girl and myself had a small amount of hope regarding Puerto Castillo( despite me making a balls up of trying to speak Spanish to the Senior Hugo, the Director) the delightful Nicky was being extremely helpful on the phone and it sounded like we may be welcome for a little while. I would also like to thank Julie, Cori and Carlos .

Wow, what a difference, the Ol' Girl and myself had been delivered from hell to heaven in the few ours it took us to motor sail here.

Everyone I met it seemed was out to show that the Canaries was not famed for the treatment we had received in Lanzarote.

The Ol' Girl is as happy as I am to be here, for the contact with real people again and for me to give her a little TLC.

Since arriving I have been invited to a eye opening submarine tour, cheers Captain Andres, an entertaining (& educational) sea life afternoon at Oceanarium Explorer, had fresh fish delivered to the Ol' Girl by fishermen Gilberto and Miguel, which was cooked by the Camarote Restaurant for me, thank you Nestor, Mercedes and Maria, it tasted soo good.( your Mojo Rojo is the best I have ever had and as for the Honey Rum, big smiles) and thanks also to Elliot for the news on Arsenal.

I even had a kiss from a beautiful girl!(see picture)

Yet to come is a hair cropping from Captain Andres's wife Amelia, pictures will be taken!(I'm thinking of a cut suitable for a monkey that's to be shot into space)

Essentially my faith in human kind is restored and maybe, just maybe everything will be OK between now and when we need to leave for the Atlantic crossing in late November. As I say this I realise I have still not managed to speak to the Director here in person, as we have arrived during a Fiesta and a public Holiday, everybody cross your fingers or have a beer for me, whichever feels most appropriate.

Starting Line

2009-09-15T04:31:00.001-07:00

Ahoy,

well the Ol' Girl has reached the starting line, with a little help from me.

It took six and a half days, in that time we were becalmed for a little over a day, we passed electrical storms and Dave the Auto pilot snapped. These minor issues aside all went well, one night I thought I heard children playing, which was unlikely as I was one hundred and thirty miles off the coast of North Africa and four hundred miles from Lanzarote, of all the things to imagine.

Back in Vilamoura, my friend Graham gave me some Expedition Foods, freeze dried foods in a bag, just add water, they are amazing. No artificial anything, thanks Graham.

Another great help on the crossing was weather information from the Royal Marine Commando's, thank you Sandy, it was all spot on.

In fact I met some very cool boaties in Vilamoura and will miss them chatting about life on the sea whilst I take notes. Thanks for the beans Mike.

So now the Ol' Girl and me are in Lanzarote, alas in our first Marina in the Islands, we are not welcome, or at least feel less welcome than anywhere else to date and have to leave tomorrow, they did allow a few nights on the reception pontoon(without electric or water) so I should count my blessings. (One of the members of staff was cool, you know who you are, thank you) It has shaken my confidence a little, still everyone else on the adventure so far has helped so much, I am probably due such treatment just to bring me back down to earth.

So tomorrow it's off to Marina Rubicon, maybe, just maybe, our luck will improve. I hope so, as we need to be here on the Island's for over a month, leave too soon and there is the chance of Hurricanes.

As a friend says, do you want to be a Grizzly or a Koala (perhaps this only works with the hand gestures)

Happy, happy, happy

2009-08-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

the Ol' Girl and myself are guest's of the beautiful Vilamoura Marina, many thanks to the Director and all the staff.

Now all we have to do is get ready for the next part of the voyage.

VillaMoreA?

2009-08-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

after the shortest and quietest passage to date, the Ol' Girl and me arrive in Vilamoura.

It is a very expensive place, with many tourists and many people that specialize in parting fools from their money, please do not misunderstand me, I too am a fool, it's just that I am lucky enough to have no money.

This money thing or rather lack of it will come to a fore this morning, in about thirty minutes, as I am about to go and see the Director, I hope she is as accommodating as everyone else I have met along the way.

So back to my arrival, I had only just finished securing the Ol' Girls lines when a dingy drew up along side with Graham and his two children, Elliott and Isabela, for those that are new to these rantings, Graham and Printerland supplied the air time for the SatCom phone for the crossing of Biscay, which certainly made a huge difference in my perception of security.

How amazing is this, not only had we arrived on Graham's Birthday, I had an invitation to the Chinese Restaurant with the rest of his family and friends. Now on these travels I have had some regularly occurring dreams, one is having a relaxing bath and another popular one is eating Chinese food. So in this time of preparation I get to wish a friend and sympathiser many happy returns and eat an excellent Chinese meal, no kidding it really was top notch.
We then went to a Japanese style bar with an empty orchestra, I might tell you about it one day.....

Now it's time to go and see this Director, wish me luck.

Tri as I Might

2009-08-30T05:08:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

I awake in Portimao, hungry, happy and impressed with the Marina.

As soon as I was dressed and having had my "Berroca" (thanks Anne) I headed off to the reception to discover what kind of deal could be struck. The staff were courteous and tried hard to be helpful, of course I presented a very new type of Yachtie, one with no money. As rare as hens teeth in this part of the world, we are now in the Algarve don't yah know.

I made an appointment to meet the Director and headed to town to find a Pharmacy, it seems I am extremely desirable and attractive, alas, only to Mosquito's.

The little bus stop was quite a trek and the little Town was a little disappointing. The area is very beautiful, great weather, fantastic little beaches and all spoilt by Karaoke and people that do not know how to apply sun tan lotion.

I returned to the relative peace of the Marina to meet Maria the Director, after the briefest of chats all was well, the Ol' Girl was again a guest of our oldest allies.

That evening I went for a quiet beer and ended up having a superb free dinner at the Waterfront Inn with Edgar, Gorge, Luis, Jose, Santos, Re and Junior, local legends of the sea, thanks guys a top night.

We left Portimao the following day after saying our goodbyes, as we not only need to stay on schedule for the Canaries there are friends to be met further along the coast.

Wow we made Portimao

2009-08-30T04:42:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

after the excitement of the last passage I thought the Ol' Girl and me would be in for a relatively quiet time, this line of thought never seems to work so from now on I am always going to leave port deciding that hell and high water are to come.

An excerpt from the log book for this next passage reads "Slight sea mist, slight wind, engine on and motor sailing, mainsail tucked, I don't trust this coast"

The next excerpt reads "engine off just been battered by 37 knot winds"

What the book does not mention is the fun I had, as the Ol' Girl and myself headed on down the Portuguese coast.
We eventually came to the corner, the point where the sea's combine, where the Med meets the Atlantic, in simple terms.
The headland is called Cape Sagres and as we rounded it all hell broke loose, luckily I had the Main fully reefed, if I had not have done this I have no idea what would have happened, I do know that it would not have been for the best.

The wind rocketed to 28 knots, this was not comfortably or expected, the novice that I am, however the Ol' Girl handled it well and led me on.
Less than half an hour later the winds had increased again, the Tri light on the top of the mast, the one you use whilst sailing had given up on holding on and was now dangling like a hanged Pirate. I switched it off and used the Navigation lights.
The wind increased again and was now between 32 and 37 knots for the best part of an hour.

The log book reads " arrived battered and bruised, learnt a little about evening winds off headlands and what it feels like"

When I arrived at Portimao the wind had all but disappeared, the Marina was quiet with no staff and the full length of the reception pontoon was available, I moored up and fell quickly into a deep sleep.

Slightly Singed

2009-08-30T03:41:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

as you may or may not have expected the Ol' Girl and me set off from Cascais, I met some very talented boaties there and some old friends making leaving no easier than any of the wonderful places I have had the pleasure of visiting, being of guest status didn't help leaving either.

The sail on to Sines pronounced "singe" was quiet and peaceful at the beginning, as soon as I was enjoying a relaxing sail the wind and the sea conspired to liven things up. Suddenly the wind and sea state increased dramatically, I needed to reduce sail, I asked "Dave" the autopilot to hold fort on the helm but due to the tricky nature of the waves, he had one of his turns and decided not to work in a useful way as it was not easy.
Eventually the sails were reefed and the Ol' Girl was flying so to speak and despite being fully reefed we were making a good speed.

This little episode, it would seem, was not the major part of the learning curve on my way to Sines, much more was on its way.

As I neared Sines Marina a large increase in commercial traffic was observed, this is OK by me as it was now dark and it made identifying the best course a little easier.

In the same way I always do I called up the Marina on VHF and due to the strength of the winds at this point asked for the direction to a berth and assistance with my lines, the voice coming out of the radio said he would meet me at the entrance and direct me.
After circling the Ol' Girl for what seemed like an age through and round many boats at anchor, I caught sight of a man with no torch, no radio but with quite wavy arms. I headed towards him and into the Marina. He shouted at me "TURN" this I did into what seemed like a very tight channel, then the man was screaming"NO, NO, NO" I put the Ol' Girl hard astern and I thought I had gotten away with it, well, this is what happened next, just as I thought all was well a rather large and pretty boat at the entrance to the that channel decided to become intimate with the Ol' Girl. I had caught it's anchor on the Ol' Girl's pulpit( this could be a euphemism I realise) and the noise was quite remarkable. So with brisk winds, the staff shouting things at me in Portuguese and the Ol' Girl stuck to another boat, I was in a bit of a pickle. As I do not move quickly at the best of times and being on my own, my options seemed limited. I put the Ol' Girl in slow reverse, clambered as quickly as I ever have up to the the bow of the Ol' Girl whilst fending off the other boat with my shoulder and with as much force as I could muster freed the Ol' Girl from the clutches of her unwelcome admirer. Then scurried as quickly as I have ever scurried back to the cockpit to gun her forwards before she hit the Police boat, which was full of Police all staring at me and the Ol' Girl and shouting other things in Portuguese. Later I discovered she only missed them by inches.

Due to all the noise and excitement as soon as I found a place for the Ol' Girl and moored up the Police were very helpful. They checked my papers, the Ol' Girls papers and her admirer and declared all well, how nothing serious came of such a moment I will never know. The following day I met with the Police and the Marina staff who told me that the night before I was being directed to the bend. Bend, turn, whats the the difference.

As luck would have it all was well and all became friends, I even stayed as a guest for a couple of days before heading off to Portimao.

Nauti But Nice

2009-08-20T04:09:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

for a while the Ol' Girl has needed a Barometer, as I have said before it was so important I thought I would have to spend some money I do not have. Well as luck would have it Cascais Marina just gets better and better. The local Chandler here NautiStar has provided a lovely stainless steel one for the journey, thank you NautiStar. It's a Barigo, made in Germany and one that I could not have afforded. Now my log book will not have a blank section under Barometer.
Strong winds expected tomorrow, so the intention is to leave the following day for Sines.
Our crossing to the Lanzarote draws closer and closer.

We Are Guests

2009-08-19T04:37:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

it's not just me that's surprised we are guests in one of the poshest, cleanest, hottest and securest Marina's to date. There are shops of all descriptions, cafe's, bar's, cocktail lounges, restaurants and some very large showers.

The staff treat every boat as though it were a super yacht, even the Ol' Girl.
Add to this the fact that I have caught up with a friend from the UK, who flew out for "A" night, how cool is that and another friend is living here and has given me a royal welcome, I feel so spoilt. So with no further delay, many thanks to Anne, Michael & Sophie and all the staff and Directors of Cascais Marina.

Many thanks also to the Hemingway bar for delicious Strawberry Daiquiri's.

The next Port of call is Sines followed by a couple of days in the Algarve before heading to the Canaries, we hope to arrive in the first week of September. It will be the longest time at Sea to date, I am trying to only think of the positives, despite this, six to eight days will be a good test, there is however a very low likelihood of fog. I have decided to buy a Barometer but I have no idea which style or make to go for, any ideas anyone?

How do I put this as delicately as possible, could anyone that is reading this out there in the real world, please sign up as a follower, tell others to do the same and maybe, just maybe make a donation for the Hospital I grew up in.

Saucepans and Whistles

2009-08-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

alas the time came for myself and the Ol' Girl to say goodbye to Captain Mike and Sally and show our rudder to Nazare.
I awoke early to find the Sun rising well and the fog clearing. As the weather predictions seemed to suggest all was OK for heading South I decided to leave. The Marina had pretty much cleared of fog, the fishermen were making ready and all was well.

Little did I know what I was about to put the Ol' Girl through.

We managed a few miles before the fog came back with a vengeance. I had the choice to head back to Nazare but this may well have involved passing through quite a few fishing boats, not to mention heading towards land, so with a friends words ringing in my ears"if in doubt stay out" I headed on.

Feeling the heat of the Sun I felt confident that the fog would not last, a very important lesson was learnt this day. Confidence and weather are two words that do not sit comfortably together.

After three hours visibility was down to seventy meters and I had another twelve hours to go, the Ol' Girl has some cool kit, although she has no Radar. This meant I was almost blind in nautical terms. Having very little experience sailing and no experience sailing in fog I found myself to be, lets say, on edge. I did have the advantage of speaking to a couple of friends on the mobile, two experienced salts who proffered some wise words.(thanks Rich n Mark)

I contacted the coastguard and gave them my bearing and position, together with the information I had no Radar and my air horn was broken.(it decided not to work after just ten *%!*ing minutes) So I decided to double click the PTT button on the VHF every ten minutes on full power.
I felt a little better that at least the coastguard could track us despite the fog becoming denser by the hour. Many hours later and more than a little tired from the stress of no visibility, more surprises were on the way.
My log book at eleven thirty at night reads" Coastguard warned me of vessel on collision course, they have not been able to raise them on VHF radio, take evasive action" I did not have to be told twice and changed course. After what seemed like an age another broadcast" vessel is still on collision course off my Port beam" by now, with no foghorn or Radar I was a tiny bit agitated. Thankfully Rich called to see how everything was going, I mentioned in passing the situation and he suggested hitting a saucepan and blowing a whistle. It sounded worth it to me, so this is what I did after changing course again, for the best part of forty minutes. It's dark, foggy and mentally uncomfortable and I am banging a saucepan and blowing a whistle like a drunk at carnival on a full moon. (On my own there was nobody to take any pictures, phew)

Eventually I caught sight of the vessel the coastguard mention and came about to their aft quarter, shouted a few words about VHF at them and stayed out of their way.

I phoned Cascais Marina and asked about the local visibility, better news, once I rounded the headland visibility was believed to be back to normal and thankfully it was.

The visitor pontoon was a good size and no trouble . Exhausted I went to sleep after the briefest of greetings, thinking that on the way back up this coast in the future the Ol' Girl will definitely have Radar and I may have crew, well, maybe.

Nazare

2009-08-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

what seems like a milestone, at least for me and a stroll in the park for the Ol' Girl, we make port in Nazare.

Mooring went OK, I did find a dead end and have to do a three point turn but like I said all went OK.

Since leaving Davis's Boatyard I have had information about Nazare Marina and the delightful Mike and Sally printed out on the bulkhead of the Ol' Girl, also much information relayed to me, thank you Bill.

After a quiet first night, the following day I set about saying my hello's and having a good look round. Sorting out the paperwork was a breeze with the assistance of Mike and Sally, a lovely couple who do everything of importance in the place, all from passion and kindness, rather than what seems to be any support from the Portuguese authorities in that part of the world, of course I may be wrong, over opinionated or just a bit mad.

Mike and Sally have probably the most unique boat I have seen to date, a steel version of Captain Joshua Slocum's "Spray" just a little bigger, called Pintas Pilot

Not only was I lucky enough to visit, have lunch on board and get to ask two very experienced Seafarers more questions, Pintos Pilot gave up some valuable booty from it's vast locker's for the Ol' Girl, a SSB receiver, Navtex and an important rubber belt, unbelievable and very much appreciated by me and the Ol' Girl. Food, conversation and support, it could have been no better, thank you Captain Mike and Sally.

Nazare has a pleasant beach, by all accounts some good restaurants and a very eclectic seafront with a recent Irish Bar "Donohue's" who made one of the better Mojito's since I have been away, go figure. (lots of stray dogs around the Town with lots of cute puppies, which kind of makes it OK but not quite)

The Marina is a little out of the way but the Bus's try hard and the little Marina shop can sort out just about anything, add to this support from Mike and Sally and some clean, spacious showers and Nazare has the ability to let you relax for a bit.

Just as well, for the next passage was to make trouble.......

Great Rozzer in Fozer

2009-08-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

well here we are the Ol' Girl and me in Figueira Da Foz, I arrived at night and whilst there is a lot of room to manoeuvre, with the extension of the Sea defenses and the Town shinning brightly behind, my chartlets didn't make all the sense they normally do.

This was not a problem, visibility was high and the channel was quiet.

I entered the Marina and saw what seemed to be someone of importance standing on the fuel Berth, it turned out to be the Port Police.

After going over my papers, all was well, alas no fuel was available. This however was better and worse, I did need some fuel I also managed to stay on the dry fuel berth for free for the night, many thanks to the Manager there.

The following morning after a quiet and early night ~I awoke to thick fog, thankfully it cleared before eleven in the morning so I was ready to pick up fuel in the fishing port and be on my way.

Now for the tricky part, or so I thought; the jetty wall in the fishing port is high, very high, at that time of the morning around twelve feet high, attaching my ropes was going to be improbable at best. Minute's before I set off, three Police-men came up to the Ol' Girl and me and said they would escort me though the fishing Port and sort my rope's out for me, this they did and more. A great service to me and a credit to Foz.

Hmmm Sargo

2009-08-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

well what a beautiful second day in Leixoes, really it all started last night when I met Sjoerd and Suzette in the bar. There are so many reasons to like bars and I have to say these two sailors were no exception to the rule. After a few drinks to line our stomachs we had a few more before deciding to catch up the following day. Sjoerd is a professional skipper and has the beautiful ship Elena, the chance to ask loads of newbie dumb ass questions could not be missed.

Inset are some picture's of the fish I caught that Suzette cooked better than I could ever attempt. We also ate on Elena which felt a little like a night on a cruise liner to me.

This next passage may not be for those of a sensitive disposition, if so move on now. After we had eaten dinner we decided to play Backgammon and chew the the fat so to speak,Both Sjoerd's and Suzette's English is excellent, he does still have an accent and this is quite important to the following explanation. As we chatted and played, while drinking shot's of Gin with lemon juice the conversation came round to "Useful sayings" If in doubt stay out, One hand for you and one for the ship, A halo round the moon rain coming soon and so on. When the conversation moved on to Whisker poles( a pole used to stop the foresail collapsing), the accent, with no disrespect, made me chuckle at this one "Don't put the pole in the sheet hole" I know, I get a slap on the back of the hand for that one.

I hope I meet Sjoerd and Suzette again, with luck in Amsterdam, fingers crossed.

Marina de Leixoes

2009-08-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

so I decided on a slightly longer passage and ended up in Leixoes. A commercial Port with a small well priced Marina. Whether it was the fact that the Marina in this large Port is smaller than I expected, the wind picking up, the fact that the Weather helms rudder was still on today or my lack of experience, mooring up took three attempts, how embarrassing.
Due to some very fresh winds I have decided to stay for a couple of days before cracking on to Figueira da Foz. Due to heavy fog in the mornings often lasting nearly till noon, I have decided to sleep as much as possible on Monday day and head off around 5pm, sailing through the night to arrive in "Foz" a little after the fog has cleared(finger crossing stuff). I feel I should mention I really would appreciate Radar on this stretch of coast, at least I have AIS and an Air horn.

Back to Leixoes, the supermarket, together with the rest of anything I may wish to visit are a major hike, well at least for me. Add to this the fact that the Bus's don't go to them and for me it was a little bit of a chore climbing up the hill to a Minimart. This said there was a silver lining, opposite the Minimart, a traditional bakers, not only bread but very tasty cakes, biscuits and patisseries.(I need to gain weight for the Atlantic crossing, oh yes I do)

As I am here a couple of days and everything not boat related I may wish to see is out of harms way, I will get on with a few little bits of work that I know the Ol' Girl would like. One of these little tasks I completed only moments ago, cleaning the paddle wheel( a small wheel that spins around in the water giving me the boats speed and records distance travelled) thankfully I did not sink the boat removing it, neither did the Ol' Girl take on too much water. Only, washing, cleaning and the like to keep me busy, at least I have the Ol'Girl and Radio 4.

I have said before it's a big ocean but a small world, whilst in Davis's boatyard in Poole, what seems like an age ago now, astern of the Ol' Girl was a yacht making ready to head this way, I met the chap's Rob, Neil, Graham and Keith from her here and was reminded of the day's of Joy and Ben's Bacon sandwiches washed down with a proper cuppa.

After Foz, if I make it, will be Nazare Marina............a milestone in my mind.

Another Courtesy

2009-08-06T05:33:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

well to my surprise as well as to everyone else I am sure, me and the Ol' Girl are in Portugal and another courtesy flag is raised for the occasion. We, I decided on Viana do Costelo, despite the wind being a little sprightly from the North the fog had cleared so we left, all seemed well, how much easier it seemed with the preventer, I am even learning how to sail using the waves a little, well I think so.

As I entered past the outer sea defenses, I was greeted by complete madness, windsurfers, kite surfers, canoeists, sailing dingies and jet ski's all around seeing how close they could get to the Ol' Girl, as I don't speak any Portuguese I tried a few tried and tested English phrases. After running this minor gauntlet I was then onto asking the Captain to raise the bridge into the Marina, I called up on the VHF and had no response, so after a few minutes whilst circling the Ol' Girl, as the wind and activity around me would not allow me to just hang at rest, I tried again, nothing,
Just as I was beginning to get a little irritated, about having to grab the visitor mooring in limited space alone, a chap from the Marina arrived on the visitor pontoon and apologised for the lack of an aerial on the Marina radio, we did have a laugh about it. After a little while they raised the bridge and I was safe and sound, moored up and ready for a beer in town.

Viana is a little bizarre, the old town has been totally gentrified, all sparkly and pricey, not to mention a very disturbing blend of architecture. Some extremely beautiful Stokeresque buildings and some concrete monsters which look like they where flown in especially from a demolition in Poland.
The spot the Ol' Girl has in the Marina is in a perfect location to view them all, not to mention being right next to a restaurant, club and bar which has Portuguese Karaoke tonight.....Hmmmm should be good for a laugh if not a good nights sleep!

Tomorrow I think we leave for Varzim or Leixoes.

Preventer No.1

2009-08-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

the Ol' Girl and me have nearly had enough of Partying at Spanish Fiesta's but not quite. Each Marina to date has had some sort of bash. Of course I have tried to pace myself and not get too caught up in the revelry, maybe.

As Miguel the Harbour Master has allowed me to stay, Gratis so to speak, I have stayed a little longer than I first intended, it's time to move on though despite such a fantastic price.
I have a couple of options for my next Port, so I will decide on the way, either Viana Do Costelo or Povoa De Varzim.

Yesterday the local newspaper visited the Ol' Girl and me and seemed very interested in this nomadadventure and what I thought about the fireworks, I hope it makes copy.

The picture is of my Preventer MK1 eight loops of six millimeter bungee lashed together and a couple of shackles, on the other end of the lines are snap shackles. I will let you know if it works and if it does how well.

Some of the salt's round here have told me about strange Northerly winds that come upon you all of a sudden and with some force, sounds like, er......fun and time to play with the preventer.

Such winds are expected in a couple of days, I will see what the local sailors have to say about them once I am in Portugal.

Some Pics

2009-08-01T16:35:00.001-07:00

Baiona

2009-08-01T03:14:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

so the Ol' Girl and me are in Baiona, around fifteen nautical miles from the Portuguese border. As neither the Ol' Girl or myself wish to use the engine unless necessary or the diesel for that matter we are waiting for the wind to shift from the SW.
Miguel the manager here is being very sympathetic, I do not want to embarrass anyone by outstaying any welcome, maybe tomorrow conditions will be favourable to push off.
I like this Marina, alas the facilities in the town are quite a walk by my standards so I am a bit of a boat rat at the moment, thankfully there is no bar here at the Marina so I am not falling into cups.
This means I am feeling a little separated from the rest of the Town and my fellow boaties as there is a three day Fiesta going on in Town and many people are enjoying it, I however, am listening from a distance not only to the fireworks but the sound system too, I have some sailing to do and dare not stress my legs on anything else.
I am looking forward to raising the Portuguese flag and seeing there coast and some of the Ports, hopefully I will make good time and will be able to be in Southern Spain for the end of the first week of August, fingers crossed the wind will be favourable.

Pretention Prevention

2009-07-27T04:39:00.000-07:00

Ahoy, (this is a bit boring)

well for a while the Ol' Girl has needed a preventer, a couple of lines running Port and Starboard that stop an accidental Gybe. That is to say with the wind behind and the boom right out there can be a danger in, lets say lumpy sea's and tired crew, for an accidental Gybe to occur, the boom whips from one side of the Ol' Girl to the other, either braining the crew, or, breaking something that cannot be repaired with ease. I have decided on a mixture of old fashioned three core "rope" and braided core, one has some give the other does not.
I will be trying this layout on the way down the coast for the next few days as the wind will be behind, that's the prediction, of course as soon as I have set this rig up there is a probability it will not be needed.
Tomorrow the Ol'Girl and me find out.
On a different tack I have decided to find out if it is possible for a novice like me to attempt my Yacht Master as a pre cursor to my Ocean Master, I have already contacted a couple of companies, time to cross some fingers in regard to how many pieces of silver they may require.

In the next blog I hope to have some pics.

Fog, Rain and a Neck Strain

2009-07-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

let me be the first to apologise for the lack of content in Pull on What of late. Camarinas despite being an enjoyable Marina had no WiFi(and nasty showers).

The Ol' Girl and me arrived at Camarinas late, around 22:30 on the 11th, mooring up went without a hitch and after slipping the lock on the gate with my pocket knife, to my great satisfaction I found that the bar was still open, in fact it remained open until 4am, I may have had one or two beers in memory of Nauta Coruna(no tears).

In Camarinas I met the most Brit's I have met to date and despite having the odd tipple in the same way one might have at home, I do not know yet if it is preferable. This aside Camarinas was a very multi-cultural Marina with boats of all shapes and sizes from all over the World, young, old, in the middle and youngsters too, a great place to meet boaties. My thanks to the many that bought me a beer or two.

So the day after I arrived, I awoke at a surprisingly reasonable hour to discover that there was about to be a grand Fiesta for the Mary of the Sea, I do not believe myself to be particularly superstitious, however, as a novice sailor with a big chart I thought it could not hurt to stay and join in.(this is only partially true)

After what seemed like a week of drinking, dancing(wiggling for me) and eating the finest sea food I have had in my life I was a little weary and it took a day'ish to recover from what was only 4 days of revelry. During this time I caught up with Andy and Pam from Felice and Mike and Jane from Muhuhu, it's a big ocean but a small world and seeing them made my stay even more enjoyable, I wonder if the feeling is mutual?

Of course there was a price to pay, not illness, high fatigue or even a great fiscal one, it was the weather, the wind did not want me to leave, in the end I left twelve days after arriving.

The afternoon I left I decided me and the Ol' Girl would head to one of the Ria's on the way down to Villa Gratia and anchor up for the night, alas with strong swells and the wind determined to stay SW this was not an option, so I pressed on to Villa Gratia. This was the first night passage on the "Coast of Death"(thanks Maria) without a chart-plotter, I did have my GPS coordinates, what a shame the GPS kept on re-setting itself which did not increase my confidence in it, in the end everything went OK, despite a ten hour passage becoming twenty two and a very uncomfortable one at that.
The very second I arrived in the Ria that Villa Gratia is in, the fog descended, the heavens opened and I still had just under two hours to go before I could make berth, surrounded by unlit mussel rafts.
It did not take too long for this bizarre climatic greeting to disperse and soon I was being greeted by the Marina staff and on my way to a hot shower and a bit of a snooze before sorting out the formalities in the afternoon.
I awoke with a minor neck strain and a healthy appetite, I met the Marina Manager, who was expecting me, as not only had the delightful Maria from Nauta Coruna been in touch, my parcel from Jeppeson had arrived, new chart chip's for the plotter, what a fantastic welcome.
The intention is to stay here for a couple of days and head to Baiona, where I may even get to use a bath, an invitation from some Red Ensigns with a property there, I do sometimes dream of a bath these days.

Maniana?

2009-07-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

yesterday was for the most part a wasted day. Having said this I did catch up with a friend, Graham on yacht Isabella and his rather formidable looking crew. I waved them off at Marina Sucka, where I would wait for the delivery of my head gaskets, eight hours later and having twiddled the skin from my thumbs, my gaskets had not arrived and I returned to the Ol' Girl. A cab ride across town feeling frustrated, bored and very hungry.

Without a second thought as soon as I arrived at Nauta Coruna I headed straight to the bar for a cold beer and some Tapas. Before long Manolo the very sympathetic mechanic that is helping with the Ol' Girls ticker arrived, we exchanged views about Marina Sucka.

Again it seems the world did not want me to feel too low, as Monolo's wife Maria had bought some Spanish food for me, in fact the most food the Ol' Girl has ever had in her stores.

The following day Manolo unbeknown to me, took his rather swish BMW motorbike for a one hundred and forty kilometer round trip to collect the gaskets for the Ol' Girl. Unbelievable sympathy. The next surprise was that Danny, who manages the pontoons and his family had brought food for me, a shopping trolley full, this was becoming surreal, I was being treated so well and with such consideration I felt like I must be someone else, such absolute hospitality and caring.

Not one day has passed here at Nauta Coruna where I have not been surprised by a kindness from one or more people, it almost seems as though there is some social tradition, custom or etiquette concerning the kind treatment and bearing of gifts to travelers. So my sincerest thanks to Manolo, Manuel, Danny, Maria the staff at the bar and in point of fact everyone that I have met. May I apologise to everyone for not listing every gesture as the list would be so long I fear I would not be able to complete it.

Each place I have visited so far has been difficult to leave, Nauta Coruna is certainly no exception and without making this a competition, may be the most difficult to date.

Thanks to Manuel Farina Garrido or "Manolo the wizard of engine's", the engine on the Ol' Girl is not only fixed but has never sounded better, he has worked from the heart and I am unable to thank him enough.

The Ol' Girl is ready, sails are good, the tanks are full, water and diesel, the lockers are brimming with food, I have the charts (thanks Maria) and we have plenty of Earl Grey Tea.

So I am about to leave, or rather tomorrow morning I show my rudder to this Marina and all the charming people, I hope I can return one day and thank them again.

Vulvo Spenta

2009-07-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

this is going to be brief, the picture is my engine. The title is the polite version and I am plodding on. I have met some wonderful people who are helping me keep an even keel in this funny old world. Thankfully add that to some Ol Brits that are helping too and I guess I don't have anything to feel bad about.

The Ol' Girl does, no engine and plenty of diesel Cologne all over the main cabin.

We hope to be all back together in 48 hours and cracking on.

Nauta Coruna

2009-07-02T04:45:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

so after resting for a couple of days I donned my wet suit and despite being in a Marina took to the water to check the prop. As I had feared it had been fouled, luckily not by fishing net or rope but heavy duty polythene sheeting. After repeatedly diving down, trying not to taste too much of the water, I had removed it all. This would have contributed towards the engine overheating and having reduced power. Unfortunately there is still the problem with the rings on one of the pistons, I am sure the issue can be resolved at some point.

On a very positive note, Jeppesen are going to provide me with free digital charts for a year, an amazing offer and much appreciated.

In set is a picture of me after a delightful lunch with Mike and Jane from Muhuhu a couple of red ensign boaties, thanks for lunch it was a real treat.

The Ol' Girl and me will be heading south in a few days, towards the end of the world as it is imaginatively called. Maybe Camarinas will be the next port of call .

A Bit Biscay

2009-06-27T04:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Au Revoir Groix

2009-06-22T03:18:00.000-07:00

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.

Tricky Fin?

2009-06-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

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.....

No pain in the AIS!

2009-06-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

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.

Three Party Time

2009-06-17T04:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Party Time?

2009-06-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-16T06:35:00.000-07:00

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.

Le Poste Traumatic

2009-06-13T03:06:00.000-07:00

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?!

Hydro Brain

2009-06-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

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.

The Ol' Couple

2009-06-11T03:38:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-06-09T01:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Defi des Ports de Peche

2009-06-05T04:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Ile de Groix

2009-06-02T04:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-02T04:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Look out

2009-05-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

I will explain the pictures at a later point, for now I hope you enjoy them? It's beautiful weather, nice and hot, just how I like it. Unfortunately the WiFi bar is a very long walk, as such my mind has gone blank. I will write up the posts on the Ol' Girl and possibly deliver them soon.

Punch Drunk

2009-05-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
a lethargic start to the day, it all started last night with a trip to a local restaurant, I never made it. Passing the Donegan pub I heard the call "Dr. House" and not wishing to be rude I popped in to say hello, within minutes I had been invited to a birthday party. Joyeux Anniversaire rang around the bar whilst a rather pleasant fruit punch was passed around freely. It is due to the rather sly nature of this punch that today has started a little slower than I intended. It was a simple blend of mixed fruit juices, with sliced orange, pineapple and apple together with Rum from Martinique and sugar. The first batch of which was light and fruity with a hint of Rum, however, each successive bowl became an entirely different creature, sill fruity yet not quite so suitable for your Maiden Aunt. Needless to say as the witching hour approached I felt I should say my farewells and return to the Ol' Girl.With due care I set several alarms for an early rise and fell into a comfortable sleep, with the Ol' Girl bobbing up and down gently in a very soothing way. The digital wake up calls won the battle against the Punch in the end, bookies would have been on evens. Morgat is around twenty six nautical miles away, the wind is not ideal and it may rain this afternoon, maybe I will stay one more day after all.

Der Man Push Off

2009-05-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
the times I may doubt the outcome are never my best prophecies. I met with the Anne the Harbour Mistress this morning, she could not have been more understanding, in fact, as it now seems to be summer here she suggested I stay for a few more days. Sooo tempting as the rate which has been applied to the Ol' Girl is exceptional, I left it open. I really want us to push on tomorrow but you never know.

After such a pleasant meeting it was time to buy the sundries for Vicking the Ol' Girl, water, oranges, potatoes, canned butter, canned Gaz, canned anything. A baguette, Lapin pate and an apple for lunch on the harbour wall. Then maybe a couple of small beers in the local Irish pub The Donegan, a careful trip back to the Ol'Girl and an early night. Looking forward to waking early, filling the water tanks and pushing off.

Dam Right

2009-05-22T04:09:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

today was almost the same as last night, nothing went to plan, in fact, everything if there had been a plan went in completely the opposite direction. The aperitifs soothed my shoulders and I even tried to have a game of pool, make that a few games. Finding myself relaxed and in fine company in a spectacular port, all I could think of were the words of a friend of mine, Richard in Amsterdam, he would say on occasion " how good would you have it be?" on my face was a grin that could not have been much bigger, whilst those very words tripped through my mind. Of course had I have known how the night would end...... That's a story for another time.

So as I set off today(after fixing the outboard, again!) to finish vicking the Ol' Girl and say my good bye's, having gritted my teeth and walked, all be it extremely slowly to the supermarket, I discovered it closed a national holiday, Ascension or some such thing, everywhere apart from the bars and restaurants, closed. As I buy my fruit, veg and bottled water at the last minute, another day in Camaret seemed to be certain as I do not want to leave without them. This means another trip, cap in hand to the Harbour Mistress attempting to be as charming and apologetic as possible having not left when I said I would. Whats the French for intentions? Of course the Harbour office is closed, a brief reprieve till tomorrow.

"Dr. House"

2009-05-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

almost time to leave Camaret, we will be very sad to leave. The Ol' Girl has enjoyed bobbing around on the bubble and I have enjoyed the company, local and fellow ensigns, Andy and Pam, we had a couple of drinks last night, maybe I had a couple more with the pate lapin and the strong local cheese we had aboard there wonderful boat Felice. Shhhh, don't let the Ol' Girl hear us. Today no worse for it I went shopping for a weeks worth of food, only having about 3 days worth left on board I thought it wise. I also bought some fuel for the outboard and paid my dues, Anne and Delphine have been remarkably kind and have given me a very sweet deal.When I first met Delphine she explained her name was Dolphine's with E's, an image I have not been able to get out of my mind since. On my way to the local Super U, I happened to meet a local artist M. Tonnellien, who after saying I was "Dr House", drew some cool pictures for me, at that moment I realised he was of some local fame, at least, and not wanting to be rude joined him for a small beer. His skill with pen, pencil, brush and paint seemed to a vagabond like me, impressive. Some have been inset in the blog. Tomorrow will be another day of chore's, washing, cleaning, packing and fuel, I might even have a shower. I should have one this evening, as I have a rendez-vous with Anise, she was kind enough to give "Dr House" a lift from the super market, I didn't even have to stick my thumb out, Anise your a star (sorry, couldn't resist). Our next mission the Ol' Girl and me is to head for Morgat, were going to take the inside line through the Les Tas de Pois, a couple of high foreboding rocks sticking out of the sea, it looks a bit tight on the chart, I have been assured its fine once you get up close. According to many there is plenty of room to anchor around Morgat so I may get some practice in. After Morgat it's the Raz de Sein, this means two things, one I need to buy a few more charts, at least down to St. Nazaire. And two, I am beginning to chase the sun.

Distant Graze

2009-05-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
so it was early to rise, a bowl of porridge with strawberry jam and a cup of coffee. Its spitting a little but that was not going to stop me getting the dingy on deck and tracking down the source of the absconding air. After a bit of a struggle, the dingy was on board and I found the puncture with relative ease, as I have a repair kit and duct tape, fingers crossed all should be well. As for the outboard, it may brighten up, leaving me all afternoon to graze my knuckles, get covered in oil and cuss to my hearts content. My objective is to go ashore tomorrow under my own steam and have a petit noir and a pan au chocollate. (you never know)I'm not fairing well with my uptake of the French language, as soon as I discovered beard, sword and testicles are feminine, so to speak, I felt as though it was a language with in-built security features designed to repel English familiarisation. Despite my "Roast Beef" mentality to this very pretty language, I will persevere, maybe by the time I get to Spain I will be able to say a single French sentence fluently, then the program resets and I am back so square one, murdering the Spanish language instead.So I'm going to crack on with the dingy and outboard.Ok (that's not what I said), so the first patch didn't take, my fault entirely, I think I should have waited a little longer before I decided to inflate it fully.Now its raining, so a quick cuppa, some more radio a few words for the blog and a little more patience with the next patch.
I am getting used to bobbing around on this bubble, how strange that Radio 4 really does make up some how for the lack of human interaction,or rather in just over 56hrs of sitting with the Ol' Girl occasionally the feeling of being partially stranded has come upon me and Ol' 4 has consoled me.When I hitch off from the bubble, that's when I leave, I'm not prepared to go through the rigmarole of mooring to one of these bubbles solo without one of those clever duck poles. I have decided as soon as the dingy and outboard are fixed I will stretch the overdraft a little more and toddle off to the Chandlers. Whether the phrase "tub de Cannard" will help in any way remains to be seen, I can already envisage waddling round the Chandlers making quacking noises, repeating the the phrase and making clawing motions with my right hand, perhaps I will just draw a picture.As you may have gathered I have not seen much of Camaret, this means I have not found a free WiFi connection, in turn updates are a little tricky. There is a company offering connection to the boats here at a quite unscrupulous £4 an hour, due no doubt to those damn Yachties; someone should found the RBA, the Reasonable Boatie Assosician.
That's the second patch on, I reckon if it holds overnight its probably ok. If it doesn't, I'll either have to invest in a dingy repair kit or try and get it fixed on the cheap (fingers crossed once again). The Johnson has had the plug's cleaned for a second time, fuel tank emptied ready for fresh petrol and oil, the fuel filter looks clean enough and it's got a spark. No manual yet, so if these remedial measures don't work I'm rowing to the Chandlers, maybe the mechanic's too. That should work the patisseries off. I suppose today I come across as a little resentful towards the rich, this is not my true feeling, in fact quite the opposite, living with the Ol' Girlthough has shown me just how inflated (ha,ha) the prices are, due in the most part to Yachties, Yachties have other people fix things and seem to pay over the odds and don't mind, Boaties do it themselves and seem to be confused with the former all the time. I think I will grow a wiry beard and have an outfit I never wash, and wear it to Chandlers to see if that makes any difference when I try and score stuff for the boat. Time for a coffee, music and to muse over what treats are in store tomorrow. The sun came out and I couldn't resist a quick tinker with my Johnson, to my surprise it started, I only let it run for a second, literally, its wasn't in the water. The Dingy is as inflated as when I left it, so I'm going to to try them out. I sure the sun coming out had something to do with it, Tony a friend of mine in London reckons the sun IS magic, I think he may be right.

Life's Just A Camaret

2009-05-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
the Ol' Girl and me have been in Camaret for a couple of days, instead of being on a nice posh pontoon we are at
a visitors buoy (bubble). As I wanted to visit the port I unpacked the dingy and after not too much effort, as its a beautiful new Narwhal, a great gift
from a friend, thanks CAS, it was inflated. I think as with all beauties it was a little resentful of being ignored for so long and showed it by deflating
the starboard side very slowly.
This I did not notice as I was tugging furiously on my Johnson, to no avail, it would not start not matter where the choke was
how much fuel it had or how much effort or skin I invested.
After a few choice words, I gave up and wondered what had changed, my beautiful dingy was looking rather pitiful on one side, more choice words.
This was not the pleasant trip to the Port I had been looking forward to and the wind had picked up, making doing anything practical very awkward, what
with wonky leg's, a wonky dingy, a wonky Johnson all I needed was a wonky donkey and I would have had a full house.
I decided to remount the outboard on to the Ol' Girl and leave it well alone for the day, as I hoisted it into position on the transom, I lost my balance and
dropped the engine, luckily it hit me in the head allowing me to catch it and stop it from falling in the sea,
it was attached with a line but I didn't want it to get that wet, I don't think it would have helped.
Frustrated, wet and stranded with bubble 44, only Radio 4 and the Ol' Girl for company it was time for a glass of wine and some Pate Henaff.
The following day I awoke early so as to catch Phil, who checks for new arrivals on the visitors bubbles and try and get a lift ashore,
he's a good man and after pointing to my half inflated dingy and showing him the blisters on my hand and the bump on my head whilst I said
"stupid roast beef" he welcomed me on board with a firm handshake and a broad smile, he offered me a return journey too.
Straight away I went to the Harbour office and met Anne, luckily she spoke English so well I did not have to murder any more French words, she offered to
help and had even received a call from the previous Marina( I must thank them) so with that I was on my way to find a puncture repair kit, just in case, a wifi connection to download a manual for the Johnson and hopefully
a cheap bottle of rose and something for dinner.
Camaret is a very beautiful little port, although to be fair most of the little port's in Brittany are, however the supermarket is even within my walking distance, a rarity I assure you.
That night is was a strong 6 and the Ol' Girl bobbed about whilst I had a small glass of wine, listened to the shipping forecast and wondered if the
following day would be pleasant enough to fix the dingy and the outboard.
Well, its been raining and blowing a bit all day, not exactly the ideal conditions to clamber into a half deflated dingy or take the outboard apart. I could
fix the Johnson below deck but this would only stink the place up with petrol fumes, so more radio, some light reading and an early night.
Tomorrow weather permitting the dingy will either have an ugly patch somewhere about it or I will discover it is nothing more than a sticking inflation valve, as for the Johnson, I already
checked the plug's and they have a good spark, I felt it, twice. A friend of mine thinks it may be stale fuel, I can only hope its that simple. As much as sitting here on the Ol' Girl is very relaxing
looking out at Camaret, it would be nice to visit it under my own steam.
PS. hooking up to these visitors bubbles on your own is no joke, I found it impossible, and enlisted the help of a fellow Ensign, thank you Andy,
as soon as I can afford it I am going to invest in a Duck pole or whatever they are called, a handy device Andy showed me that automatically clips onto the bubble, all
nice and easy, probably.

Leave Brest Alone

2009-05-09T01:09:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
so its off to Camaret-sur-mer, by all accounts an extremely pretty place.
I am hoping to anchor in order to save some money. As such its a very busy day so this is a very short pos

Crew 'ell Times?

2009-05-08T02:45:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

how glad I am that I was only a little worried, it would have been a waste of fine worry had I been very worried. The arrangements with Marina Du Chateau seem to have headed in the right direction. Although outside its protection at the moment, the sea state is that of a small washing machine all be it on a delicate cycle. I may be here a couple more days, due to the weather not bureaucracy. I am pleased my external mantra of everything is alright in the end seems to have done no harm.

Today I will be asking for crew for the Bay of Biscay passage, (I really don't want to, even though some human interaction and experience would make a delightful change), the insurance company is insisting.
Again I would be happy to sail without insurance, its a question of legality and I do want to be legal.
To think soon it will not be just the Ol' Girl and me but someone else too is a complicated thing; this insignificant adventure in a global sense always seemed big enough due to the single handed bit, however as I contemplate the addition of another person aboard it seems even bigger. Water and food for two,(having said this it may turn out to be food for three, this is not due to little feet just potential calorie intake) a greater responsibility bandwidth, real or imagined and of course an audience to all my petty novice mistakes. I also have to remember to eat fewer onions otherwise it will be an ill wind to Vigo.

If this is what it takes to proceed, then this is what must be done.

Also the donations meter has not increased in a little while, so despite my enjoyment and improvement, maybe I have neglected ¨The Children's Hospital¨ side of things and this will be afforded a little more time to pull it into tow. It would be more than a bloody shame to get all the way to Gran Can and then complete the passage to St. Lucia only to raise no money.

If anybody out there would like to contribute please feel free to do so.
www.justgiving.com/nomadadventure

Oh No Chateau

2009-05-07T05:43:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
in the absence of light only darkness prevails, thankfully there are lights all around.
I have been getting increasingly concerned about the money Marina Du Chateau will require for my stay. As each day passes the total increases, I had the intention to have left by now and be on my way to warmer and less fiscal waters, alas until this is resolved we are stuck in a vicious circle. I begin to worry, not too much though.
Now on a lighter note, yesterday I had an invitation for dinner from two splendid chaps on Marcita a 31ft Buchanan sloop, a pretty wooden boat with lot of character or is that characters and a beautiful dinner it was.
They are off to The Golfe du Morbihan maritime festival in Brittany that takes place in Ascension Week, it sounds fantastic and I have already mentioned to them that the Ol' Girl and me may well see them there.
Also I think I may be able to get third party cover for the Ol' Girl, if this is the case we will not have to take on crew and can continue on our own.

Heathens Kicked me in the Johnson

2009-05-06T02:42:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

I so want to have a rant. I will try and keep it short. Heathens Kicked me in the Johnson, I only have cover to Saint-Nazaire, after which I am requested to find crew for the passage to the Canary Islands or have no cover, not even third party.
The news from such an organisation supposedly synonymous with the ethos of our maritime history and culture, that they have no time or care proposals for independent, adventurous sailors is disappointing, frustrating and feels disingenuous to say the least.
So as our contract is almost over, I am considering jumping ship.
Of course I will be trawling Google for better organisations, who we hope will grant the minimum of cover for the Ol' Girl and me.

Brest Fortune

2009-05-04T02:12:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
today I awoke a little later than normal, 08:30hrs, this was not due to alcohol or late company, this was because of some very excited fishermen having a contest of some sort. With a lot of whooping and fussing they ran up and down the pontoons with fishing rods with spinners on, trying to catch a type of fish that I never did find out what it was, or why they felt the need to run about so much. They were so busy and jolly with it all that it was a little infectious, so I became an audient for quite some time, hence my late rise today.
The day before yesterday I greeted two gentlemen who's ensign was as familiar as my own, they arrived on Isabella, a Bavaria 33 that was so clean and tidy it looked but a few hours old.
To my great pleasure and surprise, yesterday we met again, this I can say was a moment when the goodness in human kind shows through. They had for me a large bag of food, fresh pasta, tomato and carbonara sauce, bread, butter, soups, eggs, milk and fresh orange juice, superb. The last tin of corned beef knew I had been eyeing it up, it now breathed a sigh of relief, a stay of consumption, I have gorged myself for 2 days and I think tomorrow will be the same.
So today I may try and take a bus to Brest, that is if the walk to the bus stop is not so far away that I lose interest altogether. Walking is a much stranger adventure for me than most, especially when public transport is involved it seems.
Tomorrow I hope to talk to my well established insurers, a company synonymous with yachting insurance to find out if they will extend my range in the policy, in my mind they are only going to offer third party, best not mention it to the Ol' Girl I don't want to worry her. Best not mention it to Brest don't want to worry them either.

Thigh or Brest

2009-05-02T05:03:00.001-07:00

Ahoy,
so I have turned a corner, the Ol' Girl and me are now in Brest. The passage through the Chanal du Four was exciting and very picturesque, we did not manage the turn of speed that I had thought possible with the tide, although the wind was on our nose nearly all the way. Originally I had decided to Anchor in a small bay called Le Chat, it had been described as quiet and peaceful with very little going on, I wonder how long ago they visited it, now it is full of small boats, jet ski's and wind surfers. Not wanting to practise my anchoring technique amongst such a hustle and bustle I continued on to Brest, Marina Du Chateau. Some construction work is still ongoing although it is not visible. The staff are polite and helpful, even to the point of trying to establish if the grand financial masters of such a place will be able to offer some sort of concession, as it may only be €25 a night to some, its 1 weeks groceries a night to me and the Ol' Girl, so as this is for charity as well as for me, maybe it will work out, everything does in the end.
Now the worrying part, I still have not heard back from my insurers about cover for our passage either across the Bay of Biscay or round it, everything will have to wait till I have confirmation.

Swell

2009-04-30T02:49:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
arrived L'Aber Wrach, had some assistance with mooring lines from Bill & Sue, very grateful as this can be tricky on your own, it gets trickier the posher the surrounding boats(thank you for the milk too). They were berthed next to me in a beautiful 40ft Westerly Sea Lord, not going to bang on about it as don't want to make the Ol' Girl jealous.

Concentration, rain and a cold wind together with a nasty little swell made it a very tiring passage, great relief to arrive safe & sound.

Everything worked well, except for my French "Adventure" flask, which had a picture of mountains on it. They must have been very tiny mountains as it broke after just 1 small cup of coffee, 40 minutes out, this seemed to make the passage even colder. Some Ol' Sea Dogs may be saying hove to and make a cuppa, I just wanted to make L' Aber Wrach in good light.

This is a pretty place, with fine amenities, locally it is a bit sparse though, next anchoring at Le Chat, that feels like it's going to be quite a test

Grue Out of All Expectation

2009-04-27T03:55:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
well they are just intentions after all. Last night the Monsieur Grue came to see me, it seems we have a problem with moving the Ol' Girl, a boat that had the intention to have left is blocking the exit of the Ol' Girl, very frustrating. So here we remain for a couple more days, until the situation can be resolved, which I am told will be on Wednesday, that's the new intention. Despite being a little disappointed at the delay, as today the wind is blowing in the right direction for me, I must confess it is cold and there is heavy rain, not exactly comfortable going. Tomorrow night storms are expected and the following day no wind but possibly heavy swells, I shall have to wait and see. The next few days will entail saying hello to all the people I said goodbye to and saying goodbye and fond farewell for the second time to everyone yet again. The Ol' Girl wont mind too much about anything it's me that has to be careful. I am sure I have more faith in her than she in me, especially if it's cold and there is compromised visibility on this beautiful yet tricky Brittany coastline. As a single-handed novice I prefer to have as many things as possible running in my favour without any kind of racing mentality, something that on occasion would possibly put a smirk on the Ol' Girls face,
a. if she had a face.
and
b. if she were at all sentient.

On a completely different tack, this heavy rain has allowed me to find the source of an extremely annoying small leak in the forecabin, it's location was, I am pleased to say, a faulty seal on the chain locker hatch. Yahoo, no more damp pillows. (STEADY!)

Get Off

2009-04-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
well the Ol' Girl and me leave tomorrow, a little later than was the intention, this is the way these things go. I am a little sad to say good bye to all the fine people I have met, I think the Ol' Girl will be glad to get out to where there is more water! When I checked my available data, it said that tomorrow there would be little wind, now it looks as though there will be around 24 Knots, a slightly different forecast, we should make a better time and use less fuel. If all goes according to plan I will be anchored up in L'Aber Wrach around tea time enjoying a light meal and some rest. This of course is just 1 option as if the wind drops a little the Ol' Girl and me will push on to Le Chat, a small bay about an hour and a half before Brest, after the Chenal de Four. This is all there is time for today as I still have plenty to do, looking forward to summarising the trip in my next post.

Bucky Lugger

2009-04-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
do you ever wake up and think to yourself how lucky can I be? When the Ol' Girl and me first arrived, a little dejected as we were under tow, one of the first people I met was the Commandant de Port, Philippe Le Jannou, of course at the time this was a surprise to all of us. The Ol' Girl and Me because we did not expect to be towed into a commercial port surrounded by very large boats and ships as well as a gigantic ferry and the Commandant looking down at the Ol' Girl, who looked very small and ill fitting, rafted to a large steel scientific boat of some sort. Since then I have enjoyed coffee and maybe the odd beer in the smaller port with Philippe and to be frank the pleasure of not only meeting with, dining with, and getting along with his family too. What it is to be an outsider and possibly one could say a slightly bizarre outsider, to be made to feel so welcome, whilst being in a very pretty house by a real fire with good food and company, when away from ones own family certainly raises the spirit. Last night was one of these occasions, we met in Le Winch Pub for an aperitif of beer and some smoked sardine's and then retired to theirs with a couple of friends for dinner, beautifully cooked by Philippe's charming wife Viviane. If such an evening doesn't make someone feel lucky enough as it is, an act of quite extraordinary generosity left me speechless, not an easy thing when my vocal cords are wet, the gift of this years Reeds Nautical Almanac. Absolutely incredible, almost spooky as I had only that morning been complaining to a chum in England that I did not have this years copy of Reeds and that I doubted I could lay my hands on one before having a bash at the Chenal de Four and would probably have to rely on a French Almanac, which I would not enjoy as my understanding of French is atrocious. So this is why on waking and looking over at the opposite bunk and spying my brand new Reeds almanac I asked myself how lucky can you be. This is one of those things that puts a spring in your step and a smile on your face, of course with me the spring has a slight wobble but it's a spring all the same.

Dingy Dangly?

2009-04-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
well the Dingy's not lashed to the pushpit anymore, its stowed in the forecabin, where I think it will stay until I can decide what to do with it next.It's taking up more space than I would like, having said this, everything takes up more space than I would like on the Ol' girl. I am currently going over my charts and pilotage books for where I would like to anchor, despite there being many pretty bays, right now I think I will stop for the night either in L'Aber Wrach or L'Aber Benoit the former having much better facilities including a chart agent, which makes it very appealing, (you can't av too many charts!) the Ol' girl could do with some more detailed pilotage notes on North and South Biscay. Despite this I would like to go to L'Aber Benoit, from the information I have it looks like an unspoilt beautiful estuary with some deep water anchorage and a few local shops. I must be sensible though and the detailed information on the Bay is crucial for a little peace of mind, if I decide to go into the Bay of Biscay after all. It should take around 6 hours for an experienced sailor to get from Roscoff to L'Aber Wrach, so with this in mind that's probably around 7 or 8 for me and the Ol' girl, leaving at 8.30am we hope to make it for a little before 5pm, plenty of time to have some Bully Beef and Tatties, shame I'm out of pickle and an early night. Then up early, a petti noir and a look in the chart agents before pushing off to Brest or Camaret-sur-Mer.As for my little grumble those that know me could have predicted I may have had a couple of drinks last night and despite what most people tend to feel I feel much better for it,I even made it to the local market nice and early this morning, for some excellent Brittany pork sausages which I had for lunch with onion and mustard gravy and fresh brown bread, superb. Now can I stay off the sauce, of course I can, I promised a friend I would, much safer that way and I tried sailing with a hangover once, never again. Of course it's not quite so simple, I keep a dry boat so to speak when at sea so there is no temptation, however, last night I picked up a couple of bottles of a very fine drink called Pommeau, made from Calvados and apple juice, aged in oak barrels, it's only around 17% but they are big bottles and it's easy drinking. They come by way of a local magician with such things from the Brasserie Kerav'Ale, thanks Jean-Yves.

Grumpy

2009-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
I feel I need to have a grumble, even though I should be in fine fettle. Having just paid my dry dock fee's, which were very agreeable, I realise that from now on everything will be so much more expensive. I understand there are limited moorings and berths for boats and the golden age of boaties passed a long time ago but it still makes my blood boil that the Ol' girl is cheaper to live on in some car park, than in the water where she is meant to be. I reckon all of you experienced seafarers will scoff at this, citing that at anchor there are no charges, yes I agree, however as I have said before this has its own costs.As a novice I would need to stay with her for one cycle of tides to make sure the anchor has bitten well enough to feel confident in going ashore in the tender(tender my a..e, dingy!), which I still have deflated and lashed to the pullpit. Do I hear another smirk, are those with plenty of experience asking why it is not already inflated and bobbing along merrily behind me, a good question I don't know the answer to yet. If it is off the stern, then surely this causes drag, which in turn slows each passage and the Ol' girl despite being strong and seaworthy didn't start out being a racer, let alone having to contend with any extra drag.So at anchor I lose between 2 to 4 days just to take on water, food and back up radio weather forecasts and the luxury of viewing my Emails.I am hoping this is just me the novice and as time passes 'kicking the hook over' will feel more natural and less demanding.Having no experience of the different types of berths, I am presuming some may allow, lets say up to 4 or 5 hours just to take on fuel, water, bread and the like before there is a charge.The amount I HAVE to learn is more exhausting than the sailing, that's my grumble over with, just as well the Ol' girl can't put her 2 Penny worth in, for my sake as well as yours!!!

Ol' Girl Got A Big Butt Today

2009-04-21T03:54:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,

the days are getting stranger, or maybe I am getting stranger the closer it gets to us leaving. The Ol' girl is brushing up well and some of the odd jobs have finally been struck off the list, mainly trim and varnish, I have however reinforced the mounts to the windlass, they seemed like they needed it and I would not want it leaving the foredeck. Also she has been anti-fouled with Neptune Neptal 2000 in black. Of course I have never heard of this, something that my friends in Poole will probably have a little smile over, and maybe a bacon sandwich and a cuppa. Talking of which I'm out of bloody Yorkshire Tea. It looks as though I can get a lift with the crane on Monday the 27th of April, me and the Ol' girl get to be on our way, at last, it's been a long time coming. I still have some reservations when it comes to 'kicking the hook over the side' as my only practise to date is an afternoon tea at anchor with the rest of the class on my RYA practical, a little different to having a bash on your own for the first time, still the RYA and my Lagoon Water sports instructor did a good job, so lets hope I took some of it on board.

Oh, My Oats

2009-04-21T03:47:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
I looked in my English French dictionary to find the word for Porridge, it reckons it's Porridge, I have a feeling it's not going to be so simple. Rarely after 20 minutes of search on Google am I still getting nowhere, yet as I searched and searched I could not find an original sailors recipe for Burgoo, plenty of modern American recipe's but alas, no mid 1700 versions, I think it hales that far back. Maybe I will have better luck today. Why the fascination with Burgoo you may ask; Some of you may have heard of Tristan Jones, a legendary Welsh sailor and adventurer,a friend lent me one of his books when I set off on my little adventure, his tales have fascinated me since and so has his loyalty to this Burgoo mix. If you ever get the chance I recommend Saga of the Wayward sailor, a delightful read. I was thinking that I would make my Burgoo with beef jerky, oats and schnapps, a real recipe as reference would be of some comfort and I am sure it is normally made with fish scraps. Well I would have done if the supermarket in the local Town had either Schnapps or beef jerky, time to think of a new recipe. Maybe dry smoked mackerel, calvados and oats?!?I will let you know what it tastes like, that's as long as it cures me and doesn't....

It's In The Jeans

2009-04-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,am I alone in these thoughts on what it is like for an Englishman on limited funds in France at the moment. From what I can make out, rent here is very reasonable and so are some foods, however unless we are really talking basics, food is actually more expensive in the supermarkets here than in the UK, except prawns. Add to this the Pound crashing against the Euro and you have a fantastic recipe for a diet. Thankfully wine still manages to be very competitive and according to BBC Radio News, high in calories. Talking of competitive prices, if you know any fisherman in France, they can buy products in the Chandlers tax free, something I am sure I will look into at some point. No red diesel for private boat owners here, however, they do sell different types of diesel for fishing boats, private boats and heating. Although the prices at the Petrol station seem to compete with these, so the Ol' girl has been filled up with many trips to the local garage with 30L drums.
We had hail here today and a little rain, glad I had not started finishing the anti-foul. I did however make a cover for the windlass out of an old pair of jeans. I am sure it will make her look even more tramp'ish, bet it works though and that's the important bit. I would like to waterproof it, think I will Google home made waterproofing agents.
Another thing I'll Google while I'm at it, is Burgoo, a sailors dish of oats, fish and schnapps, I hope it tastes better than it sounds. I will give you a critic once I have tasted it!

Not Nickelarse

2009-04-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
the sun is out and things seem to be moving forwards. I have exchanged a little knowledge on GPS wiring for some excellent International Anti-foul.If your interested the snazzy racing one, the one that looks all copper coloured before it turns black. Having applied a wire brush then acid to the rust, a healthy coat of Primacon and now this VC17 m, I am very pleased with her keel. As I have said before she is an old girl, but a good girl, the engine is well and happy and so is the stern gear and gearbox. All tanks are full and her batteries are fully charged. Once I have Anti- fouled the rest of the hull we are ready to leave. (a little revision on this Brittany coastline) It will be a day of mixed emotion, as the Roscofvites have treated us both well and I have eaten some of the most beautiful food at the hospitality of others, whilst meeting some very kind and genuine people.

What do I do next, what I want to do against the advice of far better sailors than myself is take an opposing curve to the bay of Biscay, out into the Atlantic heading for Vigo, northern Spain. The advice I have been given is to head into the Bay and make day passages all the way round. This sounds like sound advice to me as I have no experience as yet on blue water sailing, on the other hand, one day will always be my first day and instinct counts for.......

2009-04-15T06:29:00.000-07:00

Ahoy,
from the beginning this was never going to be easy, this I knew. However, trying something new always drags a bit till you get the hang of it, this I was prepared for. She may be an old Ketch and I may have no history of sailing, other than my rudimentary exams, and the distance I covered last year, no matter, sailing is a new found joy and a challenge doesn't have to kill you.
Now it seems I have another major challenge to contend with too, my finances are such that I have around £35.00 a week to live on, so now I have to learn how to be survivalist too. A crippled Ray Mears on a big sea, trying to catch my supper. Thankfully I like fish, not sure yet about seaweed. If anyone has any ideas on what to do about carbs, please let me know.
Well the old girl is nearly ready to go back to the water, once in, I think it will be a long time before life feels comfortable again. I had planned on mooring either at the odd pontoon when I felt like a rest or occasionally to a buoy( I will never feel comfortable with that phrase, too much city life) now it seems it will all be at anchor, not only something I have very little experience in, something which sounds much more constraining and tiring.
The better aspect to this is that I will become even more acclimatised to living on the Sea and hopefully prove to myself if not others that all of life's trials and stitches are working towards my goal; performing surgery on even the most premature and disadvantaged of children need not spell out their fate for the worse.
Of course I have no idea how I am to continue these posts once we are back in the water, I hope that wherever I seek refuge at anchor this machine will pick up free WiFi points, heho it's still 9 days away so time for plenty more thoughts, these words from my head.

2009-04-14T10:25:00.001-07:00

My first true blog.

2009-04-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Dear everybody,

I have never blogged before, as they say in health promotions that is no excuse.

I am a 39 year old disabled man, disabled in a look at the expression on the midwives face kind of disabled, who has decided to try and sail single handed from the UK to the Caribbean with very little, make that, No experience in an old Westerly just to prove that the surgery that I undertook as a child was money not wasted.

Thankfully a few company's have supplied some much needed equipment(I'll talk about that a bit more later) and so far nothing has broken. Well my gearbox broke due to something in the water but that was insured.

I left last year late in the season from Poole and made it all the way to Roscoff when I lost my bottle to tackle the Bay of Biscay at that time of year and decided to wait till now and have another bash.

As I have already said the only experience I have is passing my Tidal Day Skipper with the RYA and buying the Westerly with the last of my compensation money, and that's a story for another day too.

If anyone out there knows of cheap, free, sympathetic moorings I hope they will let me know.