Arrival in France
Thursdays Child
Robin & Joanna Minchin
Mon 4 Aug 2014 21:56
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048:17.128N 004:35.836W We have arrived in Camaret-sur-Mer in Northern Brittany after a 23hr crossing. We left Helford in the most perfect conditions, a 15knot NW wind pushing us along making the water fizz, Thursday's Child was going well with her clean hull. When we passed the last cardinal mark the "Manacles" the wind instantly rose to 23 knots and we were flying at 8.5 knots, wonderful. The children were very good in the roly poly motion and got settled down to watching some DVD's, after all it is quite boring to sit and watch the waves for hours on end! Bol and I sat in the cockpit and enjoyed the moment as England disappeared over the horizon and we contemplated the moment that had finally arrived, after waiting for years we could finally turn the boat to 180 degrees / South and head off over the horizon, fabulous! The night was beautiful, half a moon, a sky full of stars, the North star on our backstay and soon looms from both UK and French lighthouses were flashing at us at regular intervals. The west bound shipping lane didn't provide any problems, but at one stage the east bound shipping lane (now 1am) was quite exciting with three ships needing to alter their course to go behind us. At one stage Bol asked me why the echo sounder was going PING and was I sure of our position, I was able to reply that the boat was surrounded by a pod of dolphins who were swimming under the boat triggering the echo sounder! They stayed for about half an hour, their puffs and splashes made good company and they were illuminated in the black sea with the phosphorescence all around, a very lovely and special sight. Isabelle joined me about 4am and we watched the sun rise together, she was then very helpful because the wind died and we needed to motor down the Chanal du Four so together we took the sails down and put on the automatic self steering pilot before having breakfast and watching the notorious island of Ushant pass by. Camaret is a pretty port and we have enjoyed a very French lunch of Baguette and Camembert followed by a swim in the sea. After one night at a pontoon we are now anchored outside the town and are bobbing gently at anchor, and contemplating the next step. With a SW wind on its way we may be here for a few days but with walks and beaches all round that is a pleasant thought. We now need to wait for another NW wind to help us south from here. We refilled with water and Harry has worked out we are using 20 litres a day, for our big crossing we need to reduce this to 10 litres a day. How many litres of fresh water do you use a day? Answers on an e-post-card to sadlertc at gmail.com |
