N 48.36 W 04.33 L'Aber Wrac'h

Salsa af Stavsnas
Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde
Mon 27 Aug 2012 08:10
After leaving the mud on Saturday lunch we went downriver to a buoy in Falmouth harbour. Prepared ourselves for a very rough passage to France. Forecast saying wavehight 2 meters (that means that we we also have 4 meter high waves about every 2000th wave).
First visitors on board where the British Cost guard thinking they grabbed somebody that just came in from the outside...
Then we had a great afternoon with Mary and Kelvin bringing on board gifts and we had a small farewell dinner.
Billy (who installed the plotter etc) and wife came also by in their rib. Thank you everybody, Falmouth is our second home, for sure.
Hard to sleep the coming hours, the wind blowing hard all night and then it started to slow down as predicted. Up 3.30, on with the long johns and warm clothing, switch on all the electronics, it is pitch dark. Final check on the weather, leave buoy and we go slowly in the dark to pass all the boats scattered everywhere. Nice wind, sail up, we will be sheltered by the coast for about 1,5 hour, THEN the waves will be there.
Salsa speeds up and the radar shows clear ahead. Great start, dawn is coming slowly. The kids are sleeping. Waves build up slowly but surely, we put ourselves on a tack to west so we have the right angle when the wind will change direction at about 10am.
Waves are about 2 meters but loooong! That is great! Not as we experienced in the North Sea, steep nasty waves that slam at you, this was an easy ride! Sun comes up over the horizon, warm is building up. Coffe in hand, a sandwich, everibody is sleeping.
What a start! And the entire day was great except the boatlanes with cargoships entering and exiting the Channel.We also passed a big containership that had a fire on board with a mountain of broken containers. Rescueships surrounded them.
Entered France and came to a harbour with many unlit buoys and a pile of stones everywhere, in the dark. Not to much fun!
But here we are, in France, after a great month in UK