Arriving in Brittany
Tillymint.fortescue
Sat 1 Aug 2009 10:34
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Friday 31st
July - the crew of Tilly Mint are pleased and proud to announce our arrrival, at
midday today, in Camaret. Both boat and skipper are doing well, although a
little fatigued as the crew all bogged off to bed when the going got
tough....
The forecast promised a decrease in the swell and a
change in the wind direction during Thursday afternoon however these
changes didn't happen til around 1am the following morning. So for the bit
between leaving Guernsey and 1am, we weren't as happy as we could be, it was
choppy, windy, cold and we were motoring. The biscuit tin and fleecy blankets
barely raised a smile, we played I-Spy, Mrs Jones Went Shopping, 21 &
Animal/Vegetable/Mineral to pass the time and when light faded treated ourselves
to 3 chapters of Harry Potter on CD. By 10pm we were all feeling like the
Deathly Hallows so the littlest people decided bed was a preferred option.
Laurence offered to stay up to keep watch with Alex and I gallantly volunteered
to snuggle up with Immy to make sure she settled OK. Things were bouncing down
below, rather like being inside a very well appointed tennis ball but we all
managed to sleep after a fashion, apart from that mad bloke up deck who said he
loved a night sail and could manage fine without any sleep. He bore a striking
resemblance to my husband but it was hard to sure as he had
disappeared beneath many layers of fleece and waterproofs.
I did really mean to share the watches but there
never seemed to be a good moment. Conditions had improved greatly by 1am
when we got the weather we were hoping for, the sails came out (as did the
stars), the motor went off and all was tranquil and beautifuI (and oh so easy to
sleep through). I did go up on deck at around 3am but fell asleep there too.
However dawn brought renewed vigour and energy. I got up, made coffee and toast
for Fleece Man and dedicated myself to becoming a more engaged member of the
crew. We managed to keep seasickness at bay with the help of regular doses of
"boat-ache" tablets, the only drawback is that they knock me out; I could curl
up on a rock and sleep while under the influence. The children woke up
around 8am, then the sun came out and we had a great sail down the Chenal du
Four to arrive at a lovely pontoon in Camaret in time for lunch. Needless to say
the skies are going black again and another chilly wind is blowing, but the sun
will come out tomorrow (it's August.....) and we can make plans to reach
our next port - Belle Ile!
This is the furthest south and the longest
passage we have ever sailed, and we all decided that we'd actually rather
enjoyed ourselves. It feels really good to have set our goal and achieved
it and if we'd timed the watches better overnight then we could have sailed on
further. Unfortunately my re-incarnation at dawn coincided with the trickiest
bit of navigation down the Chenal du Four and I don't think the skipper could
have nodded off leaving the wife and 3 children up top with all those ROCKS!
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