Trip Update - 23rd August 2008 Biscay Crossing
Position: 43:32.75N
05:40.03W We set off from St Denis d’Oleron at
0815 on Thursday 21st August and headed out into a Despite the forecast being for the wind to swing round to the N, it remained stubbornly in the SW all day. We had no choice but to beat out to the West, with the engine on, through the swell. Luckily we had the ebb tide giving us a little push, so despite making no Southing all day, we made good ground out into the Bay during the morning. The tide changed in the afternoon and then slowed us.
For all the joys of having an expensive satphone, it kept disconnecting halfway through picking up grib files, so we were without an updated grib forecast from the point we left. However we knew the general situation was pretty benign with no large depressions on the way so we were pretty relaxed. (we were told later that it had been a problem with the Iridium network). So, combining the need for weather info with a call to Mum for her birthday, I got Mum to listen to the Radio 4 Shipping forecast, and text it through to the sat phone! Thanks Mum. We prepared ourselves for our first
night at sea. Sarah dished up an
amazing pasta bolognaise that she had pre-cooked, and despite the girls not
going to sleep until 2100, we started a watchkeeping system of 2hrs on, 2 hrs
off. Sarah took the first watch at
2100. We were both quite anxious,
as I suppose most people are on their first night, and I didn’t sleep. When I took over from Sarah at 2300,
she was full of beans and briefed me on what was (or was not) happening. It was pitch black – no stars at all –
and the wind was still in the SW, 12-14kts. There was lightning to the S, and now
and again there would be a flash quite close but it was impossible to tell where
from. We had furled the jib and
were motorsailing 20 degrees off the wind, to try to make some ground to the
South. Back on Sarah’s watch at 0200, the
wind suddenly shifted round to the Northwest and increased to 20kts. This gave rise to a nasty chop which put
paid to any more sleep, but we unfurled a scrap of genoa and Nutmeg took off
like a train, on course and doing 7.5 kts.
Possibly a bit too much sail up for night sailing but I wasn’t going to
go up and reef the main! The swell
was from the NW – at right angles to our course – so we were rolling hard and
the decks were like rivers from the spray. Dawn was not a relaxed
occasion. The wind was still
blowing 20 kts and with the swell was quite full-on. This was harder than I was expecting, I
will be honest. Sarah came down
halfway through her watch to say that she felt sick – her tablets had worn
off. So I took over while she went
below, and I sat there hoping that the girls would sleep in, knowing that to get
them both up and dressed and fed in these conditions would be extremely
tough. You become intensely tuned into the
precise sound of the engine, and become aware of any slight change in note or
frequency. We had kept the engine
on all night, as much for security as anything, I suppose. At 0730, I noticed the engine change
note and, with senses on alert, I thought I could smell a burning smell. Quickly I put it into neutral and the
noise was still there – a whining noise.
I opened the engine compartment and could see that it was coming from the
alternator. I turned the engine
off. As I looked up, in the
black-and-white light of early morning, there was a large dark shape just to
leeward of the boat. It was
slow-moving and huge, and I realized it was a whale. Far from being excited, I found it a
little concerning, and as it blew a spout of spray and steam, I hoped it would
leave us alone. There are many
stories of whales sinking boats and I didn’t want to be
another. The girls then woke. Luckily Sarah was feeling better and we
put the kids, still in their pyjamas, straight into fleeces and their
lifejackets and clipped them on.
They sat on the cockpit floor and slid from side to side on the big
waves. Breakfast was a very
unappetizing chunk of dry baguette with honey! I think this was the low point of the
crossing. Sarah stood her watch and I went
below to rest, but at 0930 we both heard an unusual noise and a small plane flew
down very low and buzzed us and then climbed back into the sky! Given we were 100 miles from land, this
was a bit odd – maybe they just saw us and wanted to say hello? Or maybe they were checking us
out. The morning improved and the wind
dropped down to a more comfortable 14-16kts from the NW, meaning we were making
good speed on a 3-sail reach. The
swell also improved, becoming less steep and meaning we weren’t rolling as
badly. Once all three girls went
for a sleep after lunch, I decided to tackle the engine. After tying open the engine hatch
and wedging my tools so they wouldn’t roll around as the boat rolled, I loosened
the alternator and found that the bearings had gone – it was stiff to turn. So my options were either to take the
alternator out altogether, or loosen the belt to see if I could run it with the
belt slipping. Because the
alternator runs off a pulley with the water circulation pump, if I just
disconnected the alternator the water pump wouldn’t work and the engine would
overheat. So I loosened the belt
and had a rest. Then I remembered that we had
brought an old spare alternator that had come with the boat when we bought it,
and had been stored in the garden shed for the last 2 years. I dug it out of the bilges and was
surprised to find it was the same model as the broken one! I figured that even if it didn’t work,
if it at least turned then that would mean I could run the engine with the water
pump working. So I swapped it over,
including all the wiring. When I
tried the engine, it worked fine although the alternator wasn’t charging – but
that was the least of my problems – at least we had an engine to get us into
port! We had a “happy hour” at 1500 with
coke and crisps and sang songs with the girls, watching for dolphins. Then at about 1800, we saw several huge
whales! It was the most incredible
sight. These huge animals would
slowly surface, and blow a spout of spray high into the air, where it would
remain for 20 or so seconds like smoke.
From the dorsal fins and the general size of the whales we think they
were blue or fin whales. They were
at least as long as the boat. They
were heading in a SE direction, along the continental shelf. We saw several more
whales over the next two hours, mainly in pairs or in threes. What a humbling experience – we feel so
lucky to see these magnificent creatures in their own territory. We also saw a couple of porpoises,
jumping clear of the water to check us out as they headed SE. Emilia saw the whales and was thrilled,
and has talked about it regularly since. As night fell, so did the wind, so
after a lovely long sail we turned the engine on. It was a clear night and really magical
– not only a full sky of stars and the Milky Way, but also a glowing trail of
phosphorescence showing Nutmeg’s wake.
Very soon we could see the glow of At 0300 Sat 23rd, we were
approaching We sorted ourselves out and went to
bed, very very happy to have made it safely. We logged 262 miles in 44 hours, just
under 6kts average. I think we
would sum up the trip as tough, but immensely rewarding and enjoyable. Seeing the whales and porpoises, the
lovely sailing on the 2nd day, and the beautiful night on the
2nd night made it really special. We are also really pleased with
ourselves for getting to Biscay
Sunset |