The Start 19 May & Passage details to 1 June - Pwllheli/Scillies/N Brittany/S Brittany -Brest/Douarnenez
Gaudeo
John and Prue Quayle / John Quayle
Sat 19 May 2007 09:00
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The first 12 hours of the great adventure was
a fairly tough baptism for the crew (Richard Burbidge, John Smith - Prue`s
Brother - and Bill Neil): close hauled into Cardigan Bay against a stiff (
Force 6-7) breeze and remaining swell from the previous westerly
gales. It also found a few weak points in the boat but morale was high
and appetites remained fairly robust for most! The wind was due to veer and drop
later, hence the need to make the most of the wind. Around St David`s Head it
became necessary to motor sail in order to clear the Bishops and Smalls, and we
continued in this manner until dusk to within 30 miles of
the Scillies when a steady NE breeze set in. Entry to New Grimsby Sound,
Tresco on an almost moonless midnight was
understandably somewhat tense until Hangman`s Rock was
identified!
The following morning was sparkling, and perfect
for showing off the gorgeous Scillies archipelago to Bill and
Richard who had not been there before; a bracing walk via the
idyllic Island Hotel and around the east of the island, taking in the
famous Tresco Gardens, finished as usual at the New Inn which has
maintained its excellent selection of draught beer and
cuisine.
Well rested, and after a bit of gymnastics up
the mast to attend to a faulty light
connection, we departed around 1800hrs across
the Tresco flats with a steady NE 18-25 knt breeze, beautiful evening
sunlight and clear visibility to give an exhilarating and fast downwind
passage to L`Abervrach by lunch ( celebrated in usual modest
fashion ) at anchor a little upstream, off the quay at Paluden
which is remembered for an unplanned leap by my friend and
colleague, Bob Duffield,after a somewhat refreshing evening ashore in the 1974 -
no such dramas this time though a meal at the Paluden Bridge restaurant with a
view over the anchorage was excellent.
The NE breeze held through
to the next day giving a fast reach along the coast into
Chenal du Four where during a fairly well controlled gybe, the
mainsheet traveller slid completely from its deck mountings - it had
clearly not been adequately bolted in place during the build 12
years ago. Everything however,was perfectly restored by the versatile crew
at anchor in Anse de Berthaume off the Goulet de Brest, though much of
the electrics and the cabin roof linings had to be removed first to obtain
access. The workers were amply rewarded with a typical Bill Neil special
( beef casserole and dumplings) and liberal rations of Pinot
Noir. Indeed the gastronomic standards onboard Gaudeo since
leaving Pwllheli have been of the highest order.
Gentle sailing the following day again in glorious
weather, up the Rade de Brest and River L`Aulne then to Moulin Blanc Marina
,Brest ended a most enjoyable trip - Bill and
John departed next day ( Richard had left as planned from
L`Abervrach 2 days earlier). Prue arrived the following day to find JQ
immersed in sorting out problems with Iridium Satellite phone/internet
communications - not the best of welcomes for his long suffering
wife! The cause was embarrassingly simple (as always with
my IT dramas): this time I had run out credit on the phone account!
With severe gales forecast we took cover
up the beautiful river Aulne and later further upstream
to the small, pretty market town of Chateaulin, 19 miles inland. In
an attempt to overcome the blockade of his fleet, Napoleon had arranged for the
river to be canalised, which seems an amazing undertaking even by today`s
civil engineering standards.
Once the gales settled we moved on
to Camaret and afterwards to the old, picturesque sardine port of
Douarnenez where we were joined by Andria Rucker. Douarnenez is now a
major centre for classic sailing vessels; a Tall Ships` rally is
regularly based there and the museum of historic sailing boats is immensely
interesting.
Though would have been happy to stay longer,
the forecast and tides are perfect for the passage through the
Raz de Sein. |