Trip Update - 23rd August 2008 Biscay Crossing

Nutmeg of Shoreham
Ollie Holden
Sat 30 Aug 2008 15:05

 

Position:  43:32.75N 05:40.03W

 

Gijon, Spain

 

We set off from St Denis d’Oleron at 0815 on Thursday 21st August and headed out into a Westerly swell of 1-2 metres.  Another (French) yacht left at the same time as us and we were within a mile or two of each other all day before losing contact during the night.

 

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 Spain, with Gijon’s streetlights turning the sky orange.  It felt like we were nearly there from about 40 miles out, but we knew it would take us most of the night to get in.

 

At 0300 Sat 23rd, we were approaching Gijon and with the help of radar and GPS to see our way into harbour in the dark, we came in past the large commercial port and in through the small harbour entrance, safely.  There were a couple of men on the reception pontoon who motioned for us to throw them our lines.  When we watched them tie two different parts of the pontoon together (instead of our boat) we realized that they were paralytic drunk! 

 

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 Gijon rather than Bilbao or Santander, because not only does it feel more of a crossing, but we also save ourselves a long schlep up the coast.  I think we have all learned a lot from the crossing and Sarah was a superb crew.

 

Biscay Sunset