Blog #9 Cameret to Belle Ile
Cassini's blog
Simon and Sally, Nigel and Catherine
Mon 28 Aug 2023 17:00
| Sunday 27th August - Camaret to Belle Ile 47:20.8N 003:09.1W The day began with full English breakfast to give us energy for the day ahead. Before we sailed, we had our own little Sunday service, saying the prayers Grant gave us. We left Camaret at 10 to start the 100 nm to Belle Ile. The winds were in our favour and within 15 mins of leaving the buoy, we were sailing. Much better than Saturday. Sailing downwind we had the " big one" (headsail) out. Simon tried to pole out the sail but was unsuccessful. We will try again with the staysail another day. We rigged a preventer for safety - stops the boom swinging across the boat unexpectedly. A gybe when sailing downwind is more complicated than a tack going upwind. The preventer needs to be removed, all of the headsail winched in, change course to move the boom to the opposite side then pull out the headsail and reattach the preventer. A lot to remember and lots of winching. The day was sunny and we all enjoyed the sailing. The wind was in the right direction and sufficient strength to keep us on our planned route. After supper, watches started at 6pm with Sally and Nigel, three-hour watches continuing through the night. Sally and Nigel saw a pod of dolphins close to the boat. An amazing sight. Unfortunately, they also had problems with a "phantom fisherman". The boat was showing on our AIS tracking system but was displaying no lights and in the blackness of a cloudy night in the early hours of today, could not be seen. A stressful situation for the watch team especially as by that time the wind was high teens gusting up to 24knots. Simon and I returned on watch at 3am to very blustery wind and lots of swell necessitating a 3rd reef in the main sail and the big one also reefed. A very turbulent 3 hours although the clouds had cleared and we had a starry night. There wasn't much shipping around, but a challenging few hours due to the gusts and some shallow rocky areas to avoid. The off watch teams had very little sleep due to the wind and sea state making a noisy night. By 5 am, all 4 of us were awake counting down the time to our destination. The engine was switched on and sails taken in - quite a scary procedure in the darkness with the weather conditions but we managed. I now have a very sore bottom where I landed heavily - counting the number of bruises we have is one of the amusing features of sailing! We anchored successfully in the pitch black off Belle Ile at 6.30 am, minimal tidy up, then all crashed into bed. I don't think anyone bothered with pyjamas. An exhausted crew but we arrived safely, despite some scary moments for the girls. Nineteen of the 20 hour passage was under sail - the longest journey under sail we have managed in Cassini and the longest ever for Sally and I. Night sailing can be tedious but after a few hours sleep, we awoke to glorious sunshine and were able to see the town of La Palais on Belle Ile. As the wind was still gusting we decided to move into the more sheltered harbour and onto a mooring with a buoy at the stern and line ashore to the wall at the bow. The harbour master girls assisted, skilfully standing up in bumpy sea and easily manoeuvring their RIBs. Another first, on raising the anchor, we had to stop to remove 3 starfish that had decided to cling onto our anchor chain! Safely moored in the harbour, the dinghy was lowered and we went ashore for a wander. First stop delicious ice creams. It's a pretty bustling town, lots of sailing boats, street bars catering for the tourists. More bread, cheese and beer purchased then back to the boat for a quiet afternoon. I'm assured tomorrow's sail is shorter, only 50nm, let's hope the weather behaves as being under sail is so much better (and cheaper) than motoring. And a bonus, fresh bread baked in the Ninja for breakfast tomorrow - thank you Sally. Catherine |
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