Bay of Biscay crossing

Shelena
Phil Scourfield
Thu 6 Aug 2015 11:25
Bay of Biscay crossing
Thursday 6th August, 2015 to Sunday, 9th August, 2015

We were joined for our first long passage by ex Oyster skipper, Simon
Hughes, and First Mate David Risby. So glad to have had them aboard. Our
delayed departure was consequent on unseasonal large waves in BoB. Even so I
was sea sick within 6 hours of departure St Peter Port with constant
slamming into the wind under engine with wind on the nose. Helen on the
other hand was fine for 24 hours or so because she was smart enough to have
taken Stugeron. However, even the Stugeron was not enough for Helen as she
too succumbed to sea sickness after 24 hours. By that time I was recovered.
Simon and David took control and nursed us through the crossing which was
not without drama. Our engine stopped after 6 hours. It turned out that
there was a large piece of asbestos blocking the fuel line in the fuel tank.
It took 2 hours for Simon and David to change two fuel filters only to
realise that the fuel feed lines had to be swapped between generator and
main engine. After that was done there were no further problem.
Unfortunately, we had water ingress at the mast too. Even the spay hood did
not keep us dry as the bow submarined into the heavy seas. Then to add to
the fun our auto pilot went on a wobbly, so it was hand steering for the
final 24 hours! It does show that the best built yachts when new need a
shake down cruise. Shelena certainly had that! Credit to Oyster in that
they had two men to make good our snagging faults within days of arrival in
La Corunia. I think it fair to say that we and Shelena had a baptism of fire
but we always felt safe. Much credit to Simon and David who were superb and
simply took it all in their stride always smiling and unperturbed. As the
photo shows, Helen recovered by the third day when conditions became
relatively calmer. Arrived La Coruna Sunday morning.

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