Skipper's log 2007 part 3 - Holland to Denmark

                                            Skipper’s Log 2007 – Part 3

                                            Holland to Denmark

After a wet day amongst the reeds, we got away again and continued all the way to Dokkum. Most of the mooring places were taken, but we managed to squeeze ourselves in between two larger boats. As in 2005, we were able to access free internet here, so we updated the website and made a few cheap Skype phone calls. The next morning, we filled with water from the watering berth near the bridge and then got under way about 9 am. The next section of canal took us into the Lauerzoog, which is one of the sea access points, but we continued along the canal to Groningen. Progress through the approaches to Groningen is dependent on the many bridge openings and by the time we reached the centre, it was 5 pm. The bridge leading out of the town centre would not open again that day, so we moored up alongside a Dutch Najad 34 boat called “Loki”. I fell into conversation with our neighbour and discovered he was also heading for the Kiel Canal. We travelled together along the Ems canal to Delfzil. Here there were some pretty big commercial barges. We locked out into the tidal harbour and made for the marina in Delfzil. On arrival, we filled our fuel tank and all the containers as we knew of no convenient fuel stations until we were in the Kiel Canal. We waited a long time for the harbourmaster to come but eventually we moved to a normal berth right by the showers. Soon after tying up, it started to thunder and the rain came down in stair rods.

In Delfzil, we met a Danish couple from Århus , Karsten and Jeanie Holm, who bought some charts from us as they were south bound. I asked him to make an offer for the older English charts – he suggested an evening meal with them the next time we came to Århus – this we accepted. We got his address in the centre of Århus. We were surprised to find that they only had a 6HP outboard motor on their 29ft boat – they were planning to make it to the Canaries.

We had planned to leave again next day at 10 am, but we had another thunderstorm, with a heavy downpour. Our Dutch friend Heinke suggested we wait until 1pm and then sail direct to Norderney by the drying out channels inside Borkum, Memmert and Juist. This area was made famous by the book “The riddle of the sands” by Erskin Childers. I compared my old chart with his new one and there were some important changes. In particular, the entrance from the Ems had moved significantly and we had to cross a drying area which was deep water on my chart.

At 1 pm, we followed “Loki” out of Delfzil and along the Ems channel buoys. It was blowing about 15 knots against the tide, so progress was slow in the rough water. Once we turned out of the Ems and into the channel, we had the wind behind us and the tide under us and we had calm water. In the shallowest section Loki touched several times but we didn’t touch once – his draught was just 10cm deeper than ours. Eventually, the channel narrowed and the buoys gave way to withies – young birch trees with their branches pointing upwards for port hand and tied down for starboard. They also had red or green reflective bands. At the ends of channels, there were double withies. It was an interesting experience going over the watershed and out to Norderney at the other end. On the way we saw a couple of shrimpers, one of them made directly for Loki.

Shrimper

I don’t think I would have risked this passage without a local to guide me through. The channels can change significantly after heavy gales such that the channel entrances can be difficult to find, even with the current edition chart. It is most important to respect the withies, even if they don’t match the chart!

When we arrived in Norderney, there were very few places left, but we found one we could push into. Many more boats arrived after us, so there was much rafting up against the rough quays. The next day it rained hard and blowing NW F5-6, this would have given nasty conditions in German Bight. We decided to stay an extra day. In the morning, I did an engine oil change, ready for the long haul up the Kiel Canal. Rie walked the 2km to the town to do some shopping. (Our bike is now so rusty that we can’t ride it). I also dug out my Danish charts as I had to empty the quarter berth to get at the oil suction pump.

The weather decided we should spend three nights in Norderney. The delay meant we could no longer catch the tide up the Elbe to reach Cuxhaven in daylight. Heinke and I decided we should sail to Spiekeroog on Friday 13^th, a distance of only 20nm in the right direction. We took the tide through the Dove Tief channel – the entrance from seaward had moved some half mile eastwards since 2005. Now we had the wind on the quarter all the way to the Norderiff channel for Spiekeroog. This channel had also moved eastwards by the same amount. As we sailed down the channel the seas were breaking on the sands each side of us. It was well after high water as we followed the withies the last mile into harbour and there was not much water to spare under us.

In Spiekeroog, the harbourmaster was very helpful and helped everyone in. It wasn’t long before we settled into the mud. Rie had not realised this and had a nasty shock when she tried to flush the toilet – black stinking water – she thought we must have spilled a lot of waste oil! I went for a walk up to the only town on the island, and it suddenly dawned on me how quiet it was. Then I realised what was missing – no traffic noise! There are no cars on Spiekeroog, other than the electric trucks used to transport goods up from the ferry. The only means of getting about is by foot or by cycle!

Spiekeroog at low water.

We thought we could sail further next morning, but discovered we had to wait until after half tide before there was enough water for us to leave the harbour. Furthermore, we received a forecast of F7 in the Elbe estuary by the evening, so we decided to stay another day in this peaceful place. We went out for walks, and enjoyed the island, which must be one of Germany’s best kept secrets. We ended up staying a third night in order to be able to leave in daylight.

Main street, Spiekeroog.

Local transport.

Dutchmen dry out.

Eventually, on 16^th July, we left Spiekeroog at 0440hrs (half tide), in company with Loki again. We found plenty of water in the harbour channel, but even with just a F4 wind, the seas were breaking outside the Norderiff channel. After reaching the clear water buoy, we set course for the entrance to the Elbe. Our course passed through the anchorage off the Jade, where the pilots were busy embarking and disembarking from ships to and from Bremerhaven. We had a fine following breeze all the way to the Elbe. For once, the Elbe was calm, and we had a fast run with the tide.

Loki, an older Najad 34

We decided to carry on past Cuxhaven as we still had the flood tide. We arrived off Bruhnsbuttel around 2pm, and locked in to the Kiel Canal, to moor up at the marina just inside the locks. By now our stores were a bit low, so we walked over to the local Aldi – here we could buy decent ryebread at last.

An English boat “Quadrille” moored up alongside us, they had locked through with us earlier, they had a young girl and a baby on board. The marina was not as busy as we have seen it, but the noise from the ships locking through continued day and night. We left Bruhnsbuttel mid morning next day, and soon had the genoa out as we had a fine 20knot following breeze. This held for many hours. At one point, not far from Rensburg, we came to a narrow section where the red lights were blinking and there was a traffic jam of ships! Eventually, a large cruise ship came along, which explained it all – the ships were waiting to let it pass.

As we neared the turn off to Rensburg fjord, we caught up with the cruise ship again, but we turned off behind an island on the north shore where Loki guided us to a quiet little marina, with really good facilities for its size. It was close to Borgstedt, and is known as the Schneider marina. We parted company with Loki here, as Heinke was going in to Rensburg to shop the next day.

Saying goodbye to Heinke and his wife.

We met a Swedish couple, they were going the other way. We were amazed to find they had an electric motor, which allowed them to travel at 3 knots for eight hours – they then had to recharge their batteries. We didn’t think it was a very practical arrangement as they had to use a small generator for the charging in the absence of mains power. They had no wind generator or solar panels, and they were planning an extended tour.

We left again early next day and continued to Kiel, where we just managed to enter the lock before they closed the gates. We tied up alongside a Dutch boat as the lock walls were already taken.  Here, I had to climb up the ladder on the lock wall and walk over to the lockmaster’s office to pay the canal dues – just 12.50€ in our case.

After leaving the lock, we stayed on the west side of Kiel Fjord and made for the harbour at Damp. Heinke had recommended it as a convenient stop on the way to Flensburg. Soon after we arrived, we had a thunderstorm, the rain started as I was on my way back from the harbourmaster’s office. Damp is a holiday village, full of German holidaymakers. There were many facilities, as well as the long beach.

It was great to be back in the Baltic again – no significant tide and no swell. We stayed just the one night in the outer harbour (the inner harbour was full) and set off the following morning for Flensburg Fjord. The fjord is about 20 nm long and our destination was the Statshavn, right in the city of Flensburg. The reason for going to Flensburg was that we were to meet some friends of ours who have recently moved to Krså, which is just over the border from here. Poul was there to meet us, and after we had completed the formalities, we went off in his car to his new home. On the way, we called at the tiny harbour of Skomagershus where he has his new boat.

Pouls new boat

 This harbour is on the boundary between Denmark and Germany. There are just two pontoons – on one side they fly German flags, on the other they are Danish! Over the stream forming the entrance, was a small bridge, and at each end were the former border guard posts. Each of these buildings is now the clubhouse for each respective yacht club.

Skomagershus clubhouse.

Poul and Linda had another guest staying there, so we were driven back to Restless for the night. He fetched us again next morning for lunch and afterwards we went for a walk along the path which the boundary police use to walk every day. We saw the copper mill that Christian I built, and the associated village of Kobbermøle. This lies in Germany now, but at one time this area was Danish. It still feels very Danish, many of the residents are Danish speaking, and they have a Danish school etc.

Rie

 Poul and Linda’s house was once the living quarters for the customs men, and their communal garden backs on to a nature reserve, with the mill lake which is rich in bird life. We spent the night with them, it was great to sleep in a proper bed for a change!

With Poul and Linda.

Poul drove us back to the boat next morning, complete with a bag full of clothes which Linda had washed for us  - Thanks Linda. Poul helped us out of the awkward berth we found ourselves in and we said goodbye. We had intended to have a short sail to Sønderborg, but we had such a good breeze on the quarter that we decided to carry on to Søby on the island of Æro.It was a wonderful day, and good to be back in Danish waters again. Soon after arriving in Søby, we had another thunderstorm, but it soon passed over.

Aærø sunset

The following day was very wet and with little wind. We put the aft part of the cockpit tent up and motored. We cut through the channel between Avernakø and Drejø into Svendborg Sound, then past Troense and then headed north to Lundeborg on Fyn. This was a small harbour, and as there had been a harbour festival and it was packed out. Just after we arrived it poured with rain again. We found another boat to lie alongside for the night and had a fish supper at the fishmonger/café.

The next day, 23^rd July was dry and breezy from the NW. We left around 9 am and sailed towards the Great Belt bridge and passed under the western end, keeping out of the shipping channel. We then sailed past Romsø to Ballen harbour on Samsø. Ballen was packed out as usual for this time of year. The Samsø festival had just ended, so as well as the expected German invasion it was full of Danish boats. We rafted up as number 8 outside some big German boats and two more rafted up outside us. It blew up during the night to a near gale, and I woke up to a creaking noise on the bow. I got up to have a look and found that the outside boat of the raft in front of us had taken a line to our bow, running the rope through our fairlead. None of the other 10 boats had a shoreline, so all 11 were hanging on our fairlead. There was someone up on one of the boats so I shouted to him to get a shoreline on, otherwise I would cut the line! I looked again a little later sure enough they had a few lines out! The next day, I noticed that their inside boat didn’t even have springs!

The forecast for the day was for strong winds so we decided to stay put, the same happened the next day too, so it was the 26^th before we left Samsø. Thursday was bright and breezy with 20 knots from SW. This gave a cracking sail up to Snekerløb, the short cut through the reef off Sjællands Odde, reaching 7 knots at times. After the short cut, we had the wind on the beam, so we decided to continue to Hundested instead for stopping at Odden as planned. We had a reef in the main and a few rolls in the genoa. We came so quickly to Hundested that we decided to continue into Roskilde Fjord and Frederiksværk harbour. We had sailed 60 nm in ten hours – not bad going for us!

We had told our friends we would arrive in Kignæs Harbour on Saturday, so we “hid” in Frederiksværk another day. E would have had to anyway as it blew a full gale on Friday. Rie’s brother Claus came down to see us from his nearby summerhouse on Thursday evening. Frederiksværk  harbour was fine for us as it is a member of the “Frihavn” scheme, like Kignæs. This arrangement means that another FH member can use our berth free when we are away from base, likewise, we can stay three nights free in a participating harbour.

Saturday, 28^th July was dry with a strong SW breeze. Here in Roskilde Fjord we had to stay in the deeper channels, and we found we were too close to the wind to sail, so we motored most of the 8nm to our home harbour – Kignæs.

Approaching Kignæs

Home again in Kignæs.

 As we approached we could see a few yachts “dressed overall” with signal flags and a group of family and friends waiting on the quay to welcome us home.

Dressed overall.

Welcome home.

After tying up, Rie went over to the clubhouse and bought some beer, and we had a good time on Restless.

This year, we have sailed 1469nm by the log and the total for the whole voyage since May 2005 is 4948nm. Apart from the engine repairs in 2005, Restless has given us trouble free sailing. Now we look forward to being grandparents in December, so a new era begins. We now have a new ship’s dog, her name’s Queenie.

Our new crew member

We still want to continue sailing to new places, but in the near future we will stay in Scandinavian waters.

Skipper's Log 2007 part 2- Guernsey to Holland

                                            Skipper’s Log 2007- part 2

                                            Guernsey to Holland       

Rie’s condition was very painful after a fall, so it was a good thing to be in harbour the next few days. On our second day in Guernsey, we were joined by Vlodek and Agnieska on “Safran”. On the third day, three boats from my old club – the Walton and Frinton Yacht Club- turned up. They were “Nocturne” with Ian and Allison, “M’lady” with Sam and “Tortuga” with David and Sylvia. Unfortunately Rie missed out on the socialising as she had to lie down all the time – it was too painful to sit up. On the Tuesday, Graham and Christine arrived on “Rebel”, they had sailed non-stop from Dover.

While in St Peter Port, Rie heard the news that her daughter Dorthe was pregnant, which cheered her up.

Dave Cocks

On Friday, Dave Cocks arrived. I had asked him to help us across the channel, as Rie had hurt herself. Whe should have left the next day, but guess what – thick fog. So on Sunday, we left St Peter Port and sailed to Cherbourg. We had light winds, so motor sailed all the way. At least we had no problems with the Alderney race in the light wind conditions. On arrival in Cherbourg, we moored up next to “Safran” and spent a few hours with Vlodek and Agnieska. The next morning was thick fog again so we could not see across the harbour!

Tuesday, 12^th June saw us up early and we left Cherbourg at 0618. The wind was SW (on the quarter) but was rather light at first, but after a couple of hours we were able to shut down the motor. We then had a fast sail across the channel, we didn’t meet many ships. As we approached the Needles channel, the wind piped up to F6 or so and conditions in the Needles channel were rough. We hauled down the mainsail and rolled in on the tide with just the genoa.

After Hurst Castle, the sea calmed down again and we had a fast but gentle sail with the tide all the way to Cowes. We moored in Cowes Haven Marina at 7.30 pm. We spent a day in Cowes – it rained all day – and took advantage of the sales. We both treated ourselves to a new pair of sailing shoes at half price!

The next day, 14^th June, we set off cracking early at 4.20 am to catch the tide. There was little wind , so we motor sailed most of the way. We had the tide with us most of the way to Brighton. When we reached Brighton, Dave’s wife, Jenny was waiting for us and took our ropes. After a cup of tea on board, Dave and Jenny drove home to Suffolk.

By then, Rie felt much better and so we went shopping in Asda where we found many baby things! I treated myself to new sailing waterproofs – my 10 year old Henry Lloyds had lasted well but looked well worn. We stayed an extra day in Brighton because of the weather and finally set off again on the 17^th. We had SW wind, 15 knots, and had a reef in the main, but after just three and a half hours we arrived in Eastbourne, having sailed all the way.

 We stayed just one night in Eastbourne and filled up again with cheap diesel before the long leg to Dover. We locked out at 9 am and set sail for Dungeness. The day started with about 15 knots but by the time we approached Dungeness, it was blowing at least 20 knots from SW so we put the second reef in. After rounding the headland the wind was directly behind us and down to 15 knots again, so we goose winged it the rest of the way to Dover. The tide was very strong near Dover, and Rie had a lesson in crabbing across tide to the entrance. We moored in the tidal harbour and went to look for our last fish and chips – but the fish shop had closed down! We settled for a restaurant near the harbour for rather more expensive cod and chips.

The white cliffs of Dover

We left Dover the next day, and pushed the tide towards South Goodwin – we made slow progress against the spring tide though and ended up crabbing eastwards to the TSS, then crossing it at 90 degrees, while the tide set us towards Calais. Once clear of the TS, we set course for Dunkirk. Now things got interesting, the strong current and shallow banks made for rough water and we rolled our way to Dunkirk. We moored up at the YCMN marina after 10 hours at sea. An hour later, I had a phone call from my sister in Wales, saying that our Auntie Peg had died and was I coming to the funeral. So next morning we moved the boat to the inner harbour, locking in through Trystram lock. This turned out to be a good move in that the charge here for 7 days was only 75 €.

On the Friday, I took a bus to Calais and a ferry to Dover, then drove in a hire car to Cardiff. Meanwhile Rie stayed on board. I returned to the boat on Tuesday – this had been the longest Rie and I had been apart since we married in 1999!

The weather forecast was not inspiring for the next day, but we took a chance and headed for Ostende.  The wind was almost astern all the way, and we made good speed over the ground – the tide adding about 2 knots to our sailing speed. It took us only four and a half hours to get to Ostende, but boy, did we roll!

In the Montgomery Dock marina.

 I got a shipping forecast from the harbourmaster that warned of F7 gusts, but on logging on to “weatheronline.co.uk” saw that the wind along the coast should only be about F3. So, at 9.30 am we left the Montgomery Dock in Ostende, and sailed along the coast to the Westerscheldte and  Holland. Again we rock’n rolled our way with just the genoa. We crossed the river near Breskens and dived into the the Vlissingen lock and the Dutch canals. Just before 5 pm and four opening bridges later, we arrived in Middelburg, and got a mooring.

The next day, we woke up to the sound of the wind in the rigging and heavy rain. The weather forecast on channel 23 said gale force winds, so we stayed a day. But at least we were now in the Dutch inland waters for a while. The 30^th June was another rainy day, but we left at 10 am. It rained on and off during the day. We sailed some of the time on Veersemeer and stopped for lunch on a little island there – Sabingeplaat.

hen finally into the Oosterschelde and motored to the entrance of the canal leading to Goes. We spent the night in the city marina in Goes.

Goes

The next day started wet again, but by the time we were back in the Oosterschelde, it dried up again. We motored all day, locking into the Volkerak and finally into the Hollandsdiep.

A busy lock!

We stayed the night at the lovely town harbour of Willemstat, this was a delightful place, we moored just below the windmill.

 We stopped just the one night before continuing to Dordrecht and through the Hollandsijsel to Gouda. Here we locked into the town harbour again, as we had done in 2005. And just like last time, we had a thunderstorm just after we arrived.

We left again the next day about 9 am and negotiated the three bridges and a lock out to the main waterway. The rail bridge just outside Gouda opened at 1013 am, and a small flotilla gathered there. We sailed with them northwards and through Bannermeer before turning left into the ring kanaal Haarlem. We had decided this time to take the Haarlem route instead of the night convoy to Amsterdam. We all came to a stop at Sassenheim where the bridges do not open between 1328 and 1828 – we missed it by half an hour. So we moored up and had a quiet afternoon – except for the thunderstorm and torrential rain!

Eventually at 1828 precisely the railway bridge opened and our little flotilla of six boats continued northwards. In the approaches to Haarlem, we encountered many rowing boats going in both directions, and sometimes across the river. We arrived in Haarlem centre about 9 pm, so decided to moor up to the quay there, like the others. Around 10 pm, we were visited by a pair of swans, with six cygnets, begging for food – they got a few slices of our bread. It was a wet night.

The next morning at 9.45 am, we set off again. The first bridge opened for us but the next, a footbridge, didn’t - we had to wait until a few more boats arrived at 10 am. We paid our dues just after bridge no. 4 and carried on until we reached the Spaandam lock, where we had to moor up and wait alongside some others that were already there. The lock opened at 12 am, and once inside, I had to go up to the office to pay lock 3.50€ dues. Once out of the lock, the bridge opened for us and we continued out to the Noordzeekanaal. This we then followed eastwards, through Amsterdam to the Oranjesluis where we locked out to the Markermeer.

By now it was blowing about 20 knots from SW, so we let out the genoa and had a fast sail all the way to Hoorn – we reached 7 knots at times. It was a sea captain from Hoorn that gave the name to Cape Horn, there was once a well known navigation school here. It was also a busy harbour for shipping before the Ijselmeer silted up. We arrived in Hoorn just after 6 pm and moored in the binnenhaven, right in the town. There were many sailing barges in the outer harbour.

We went out for an evening walk around the town and had a drink at a local bar before turning in for the night. Many of the buildings in Hoorn leaned into the road at various angles (we saw them before we went to the bar)!

Leaning houses in Hoorn

In the morning, Rie went off to the supermarket to do some shopping and I went off in search for gas. We then moved over to the watering berth and filled our water tank, and we eventually left at 1030 am. We had a gentle sail again with just the genoa to the lock near Enkhuizen. However, when we tried to roll the genoa in, the reefing line was jammed in the drum. So we hurriedly took the sail off, tied it to the guard rail and rushed after the others into the lock. We decided not to stop and spend time on sorting out the roller and motored instead across the Ijselmeer to the Princesse Margarietsluis near Lemmer.

A stowaway.

 It was a very rolly trip, the Ijselmeer can throw up a short sharp chop when the wind blows. The lock didn’t open for at leasthalf an hour, but we eventually followed three large barges into the lock. When the lock gates opened, the barges sailed out and motored under the motorway bridge, but we had to wait a while for the bridge to open.

We continued along the Princess Margarietkanal in company with a Norwegian boat, until just before the Wester-brugsloot, where we found a quiet place to moor up in amongst the reeds. Several small landing stages were placed around a small island, each long enough to take two boats. After a meal, which Rie had prepared while under way, we cleared the jammed reefing line on the roller and put the genoa back on. The next day it poured with rain and blew a gale – we recorded over 30 knots of wind – so we stayed put!

Horrible weather!

 We spent the day tidying up the boat, refuelling and doing engine checks and so on. The local forecast on VHF at 1305 gave a warning of gale force winds until after midnight, later at 1905, these were extended to 8 am tomorrow. A few motor boats came past, but their crews were snug in their enclosed steering houses. We were being pinned to the staging by a broadside wind so it would have been difficult to get away anyway.

Skipper's Log 2007 part 1 - Pauillac to Guernsey

Skipper’s Log 2007part 1

Part 1 Pauillac to Guernsey

We returned to the boat on 15th March, having spent a few days in Paris on the way. The weather was really spring - like in both Denmark and France. In France the season was a good month ahead though. We found Restless a bit damp and with some mould, so the first thing we had to do was to wash down the inside and dry her out. We made good use of our little electric warm air heater. Water had gathered on the side decks, as the drains did not work effectively with the boat parked in a slightly nose down attitude and leaves had blocked the drains.

The next task was to tackle her bottom, I had brought with me a small electric sander, which was used to remove the remains of the barnacles, and to give a smooth surface. The first coat of antifouling paint was applied on the 18^th, but all work stopped at 4 p.m. when it started raining. We didn’t do much outside the next day either, as it was too wet and windy. We even had hailstones in the afternoon! The work below the waterline was finished on the 20^th, the wind steering re-fitted and the topsides given a polish (by hand). The next day, we went on the launching trailer, ready for launching at 8 am the day after. That enabled me to paint the patches covered by the supports too.

Going onto the launching trailer.

The 25^th March saw us up early, we launched just after 8am, with no fuss, and moved to an alongside berth. I went up to the office to arrange a day for stepping the mast, but the harbourmaster said the “coefficient” was too great until the 30^th. The problem was that they could only step the mast at high water, to avoid the strong current. However, with the spring tide, the boat would have been too high in the water, and the crane could not come high enough. The mast came on eventually on the agreed day, and we claimed our free bottle of Pauillac wine.

Stepping the mast.

While alongside, I scraped the old varnish off the toe rail and sanded it down.

Our alongside berth

The next day was carnival day, and drum bands went in procession with about four floats through the town. It was an entertaining afternoon. We were having a cold spell, and it didn’t really warm up until the 2^nd of April, when it quickly rose to 18 deg. We spent a few days walking around the vineyards, but the new growth was just starting to show.

On the 6^th of April, we launched ourselves out into the muddy, fast flowing waters of the Gironde estuary. The current was about 4 knots, so our total speed over the ground was at times over 9 knots, and we arrived at Port Medoc around 1 pm, in time for lunch. This was a new marina – not yet shown on the charts. Everything was well laid out and in pristine condition. It was a very pleasant place to overnight just inside the Gironde estuary, with no tidal restrictions. It was a much calmer place than Pauillac – no current – but some distance to the shops.

Port Medoc.

We left Port Medoc in the afternoon the next day around high water, in order to enter Royan before half tide. It was a warm, hazy afternoon, and we reached Royan within the hour. We moored at the waiting pontoon, but the Captanierie said we could stay there for the three nights. We actually paid for two nights, the third one being free. Being Easter, Royan was busy, both ashore and afloat. It is a major seaside town

On Easter Sunday we walked to the market – a modern parachute shaped structure. We found all our needs under one roof – meat, fish, vegetables and bread.

Royan market.

 Later in the afternoon I called at the chandler for some deksolie for the toe rail, and coated the rail the next day.

We left Royan on April 10^th at 8 am and headed down the outer estuary. We had about 2 knots of current against us in the first hour but it disappeared as it approached high water. We turned out of the estuary at 11 am and set our course for nearly north. Sunshine and calm sea – hardly any wind but a little swell – we were back in the Bay of Biscay. We arrived off St. Denis d’Oleron just after 5 pm and anchored off to wait for the tide. Across the entrance was a concrete sill that dried to 1.5m on spring tides, so we needed 3m of water minimum before we could sail over it. We had our evening meal at anchor and sailed into the harbour around 8 pm.

Ile d’Oleron is a beautiful island, so we hired an extra bike and toured the northern half of the island. There were some wonderful dedicated cycle tracks (called piste cycliste) which we made good use of. We saw salt pans, where sea water was allowed to evaporate in the sun to yield salt. The second day, we biked to the northern tip of the island, to the lighthouse, and looked out to the rocky outliers where we had seen wrecked ships as we sailed by a few days before. The weather was beautiful and Rie went paddling.

When in Port Douhet, we saw a French boat that had misjudged his tide height and had run aground on a falling tide. As the tide went out, the boat looked very unstable, until eventually it fell over on its side. We watched the crew scramble ashore over the sand.

Yacht aground off Port Douhet.

Also from Port Douhet we could see out to Fort Boyard, a huge oval shaped fort some five miles out from Boyardville. Its purpose would have been to protect the approach to La Rochelle and Rochefort which used to be important naval bases. We had seen the fort featured on a Danish TV programme, called “Fangerne på Fortet”. Rie was very sad to hand her bike back, it was a good lightweight touring bike, which she would have loved to taken home.

We left St Denis d’Oleron on the 15^th and soon hit fog – but no going back in with nearly zero visibility - so we continued with the aid of GPS and Radar. There was a nasty swell plus wind driven waves, especially between Ile d’Oleron and Ile de Ré. It became a long hard slog under motor all the way to Les Sables d’Olon. We arrived just as it was getting dark, still in fog and we moored at the outer reception pontoon just before the harbourmaster went home. We were allowed to stay there for the night. We went out for a meal at a harbour side bistro and then home to bed. This harbour’s main claim to fame is that it hosts the Vendeé Globe around the world race, which takes the boats south, around Antarctica, and home again. It was the race where Tony Bullimore capsized and was rescued by the New Zealand Navy. The event occurs every four years, the next one being 2008.

We left the next day before lunch, the fog had lifted, and we sailed in lovely sunshine to Port Joinville on Ile d’Yuex. This we found to be a delightful place with lots of harbour activity – ferries, fishing boats and island supply vessels. The town had a Mediterranean feel to it, most of the houses were painted white with coloured window shutters and doors. We again hired an extra bike and cycled round part of the island in lovely warm sunshine. The southern side of the island was rugged with the occasional sandy inlet.

Looking towards St Croix.

 On our way back from St Croix, some cyclists came round a blind bend on the wrong side of the road and crashed into Rie. She fell off the bike and badly bruised a knee and thigh. After a cold compress and a cigarette, she bravely carried on, much shaken. We had some paper serviettes and bottles of water with us so we managed to cool down her knee to limit the swelling. When we reached La Muelle, we went for a coffee at a creperie, and the staff there very helpfully bathed her wounds and applied Betadine (Iodine antiseptic solution). We arrived back at our boat without further mishaps.

Port Muelle.

We left Port Joinville early on the 19^th to sail the 50 nm to Belle Ile. We had 16 knots of wind on the beam, just what a Rival likes, and we were soon flying along at 6.5 knots with full main and genoa, and the Wind pilot taking care of the steering. We had 9 hours of wonderful sailing until we neared Belle Ile, and then the wind died on us. We motored the last hour in sunshine and calm water to enter the harbour at Le Palais just before high water. This meant we could get through the tide lock to the Bassin a Flot, where we could moor alongside a quay in the middle of town. We went out for a meal of moules marniere at a quayside restaurant and then tumbled tired into our bed.

We had decided to stay here for the weekend. The first day we did our washing at a nearby laundrette – but we baulked at the price of the driers at 1€ per 5 minutes! So we set up a clothes line on board and dried everything in the sunshine. We ordered a hire car for the next day – Rie’s bruises were still sore so she needed a break from cycling or walking. Rie went to the market to do her shopping though and bought some oysters. We had them as an entreé in the evening, but we both agreed we preferred mussels.

We had to cancel the hire car next day as Rie had a stomach upset – probably the oysters – and this kept us in port for the next few days. I walked up to the Citadel, a huge Vauban structure of the 17^th century. It was built to protect the port against the raiding Anglais and also the Dutch. The fortifications are also continued on the other side of the harbour and along the behind the town. There were some fine views from the fortress and some interesting buildings, including a round powder house with a conical roof.

Le Palais, inner harbour.

Le Palais, outer harbour

 On Monday night the seagulls decided we were a fixture and roosted on our crosstrees, leaving their mark in a white stripe from one side deck to the other! Rie remained ill for several days, but recovered for her birthday. We hired a Renault Twingo, to tour the island.

Sauzon harbour.

Our first stop was the little harbour of Sauzon, full of charm, but not sheltered for yachts. We then continued to Pointe de Poulains, where there was a lighthouse and fine scenery.

Near Pointe de Poulains.

The southern side was even more rugged, Grotto de l’Apothecaire  being very dramatic.

Near Grotto d’Apothecaire.

We then drove to Bangor, thinking we could find somewhere for lunch, but no luck. So we continued to Locmaria – still no café open – The Creperie opened at 5.30. We looked at the tiny sandy inlet of Locmaria, but that was deserted. We drove back along the coast road to Le Palais, and had lunch. Then we thought we’d take advantage of the car and go to the big supermarket on the outskirts of the town. It was still too early to hand over the car, so we drove to Port Coton, which turned out to be the most scenic part of the island

Rie near Port Coton.

We left Le Palais on the 26^th and sailed to Port Tudy, on Ile de Groix, a much smaller island. We moored to the floating pontoons in the tidal harbour. The inner harbour was shut off by a gate and sill. The gate opened only for short periods near high water.

Port Tudy (from the inner harbour).

There were the usual cafés and tourist shops on the harbour front, but a walk uphill to the town – Le Bourg – was necessary for supplies. Rie narrowly escaped being sold an expensive painting here – it cost far more than she expected! I came down with a bad sinus and chest infection and had to rest for a few days. When I thought I was better, I went out for a few hours on my bike to see the island, but I could feel afterwards that I wasn’t fully recovered. Again, there are some fine cliff views on this island, but it is really better suited for walking than cycling. Every day the ferries brought a load of walkers over from Lorient, on the mainland, all with their rucksacks and walking boots. Being a holiday weekend, it was very bust both afloat and ashore.

We finally left Port Tudy on 2^nd May, having hoisted a Breton flag in addition to the French one. The Bretons are very proud of their Celtic heritage. We had a fine sail up to Concarneau, where we moored in the marina alongside Le Vile Close – a walled town on an islet, connected to the land by a short bridge.

Concarneau

The next day, we went for a walk through the old town and found a charming little creperie with a garden, where we stopped for lunch. Afterwards, we visited the fishing museum – the most interesting museum I have seen in a long time. The various methods of sea fishing were beautifully illustrated with models, and there was an interesting series of films too. Finally, we visited the de-commissioned trawler “Hemerica” – that was very interesting.

 She was almost as she was when taken out of service. On the bridge was a Mk4 Decca equipment, on which you had to select the appropriate chains. It’s much easier with GPS and chart plotters! Hemerica was built in the 50’s for deep water trawling off the Irish coast and was taken out of service in 1981. She had an 18 hour sail to her fishing grounds.

After a couple of days, we left Concarneau and sailed the 12 nm to Loctudy, where we spent just one night. The marina was in pleasant surroundings, but apart from the quay side fish shops, it was a long walk to the nearest supermarket. We left Loctudy on 5^th May, and sailed around the never ending headlnd of Pointe Penmarch. We had a fresh NW wind and a pleasant sail to the point – some 17 miles. On rounding the point we were faced with a hard beat and tacking the next 13nm to Audierne, which we reached at around 7pm. The marina is tucked in a corner, just over from the town square, convenient for most things, and we found an Aldi supermarket a short walk along the river bank.

On arrival, we were helped in by the crew of a Finnish boat, who told us of a bar where there was internet. So next day we checked our e-mails and the long range weather forecast. Bad news – a series of Atlantic depressions would be sending us F5-6 for the next few days, with gusts of 44 knots – not what we wanted for the next leg through Raz de Sein and towards Camaret. The Raz is an area where the channel passes between the point and a small rocky island and is two miles wide. The shape of the seabed causes a strong current and a race occurs, with overfalls, except near slack water.

Eventually, we decided that Wednesday the 15^th was a possibility, with a forecast of SW F 3 -4 wind. However, that would mean leaving Audierne at about 4 am on a falling tide to ensure enough water at the entrance. I didn’t relish going out in the dark, so we moved out in the afternoon of the 14^th and picked up a mooring buoy off St Evette. It was blowing a good NW F6 when we picked up the buoy, but the long mole kept the swell out of the bay.

We left St Evette, as planned at daybreak, having reported the conditions to our Polish friends on “Safran” on the radio at 5.15am. Their boat was shallow draft , with their lifting keel, and had stayed on in Audierne. When we left St Evette, it was blowing from the SW at about 16 knots, but at times it increased to 20 knots. The beat up to the Raz was rather uncomfortable with the 3m swell, and slow with reduced sails. On turning north into Raz de Sein at 10 am however, we had the wind on the quarter and the Ile de Sein protected us from the swell in the Raz itself. Once clear of the Raz, the wind was almost astern, with the swell from the west, so it was a much more comfortable sail up to Camaret. We were sailing a good 7 knots at times, and also had the tide with us, so our speed over the ground was around 9 knots!

We arrived in Camaret sur Mer at 1 pm, and moored in the outer marina. In the afternoon, the heavens opened, and the wind increased further. We decided to wait here for the right conditions for the next hurdle – Chanel de Four. In the meantime, Rie declared she was not going to cross the channel overnight. So we have decided to continue along the Brittany coast and over to Guernsey so we can cross over the channel from Cherbourg to Yarmouth in daylight. We were 4 nights in Camaret in some awful weather – the train of depressions continued to track across the Atlantic.

At last, on the 19^th, we set off at mid day to catch the tide through Chenal de Four. We had a good weather forecast – NW 3-4, with swell 2.5m. It stayed sunny all day but the swell from a distant storm was 5m high! Others have confirmed this. At one point a customs cutter appeared behind a wave, he had crossed in front of us, just 30m ahead. I don’t know who was most surprised – I hadn’t seen a trace of him before. We were keeping a good lookout as there were three other yachts nearby.

We eventually arrived in L’Aberwrach at 6 pm, the tide had given us a good push. We found “Safran” there on a mooring buoy, but there were none left for us. A marina was under construction and we were able to moor there. We intended to stay one day in L’Aberwrach, but the weather decided it should be two. It poured down with rain on the Monday. We got away again on Tuesday 22^nd, which turned out to be a glorious sunny day, with about 12 – 15 knots of wind from NE. We set off at 7 am to make use of the NE going tide, which we carried all the way ti Ile de Batz, just north of Roscoff. Then we had just two hours of foul tide to Trebeurden. On arrival, the sill gate to the marina was still closed so we picked up a waiting buoy. We waited 31/2 hours for the tide to come in.

Trebeurden is a very pretty place. The marina is tucked between some rocky islets, and one side is protected by a big breakwater. The next day the wind increased again and one day it blew a full force 9 severe gale (50 knots). It was so rough and noisy that night that we had to move into the main cabin – not that we got much sleep! It continued to blow for several days and it was not until the 29^th that we could get away. We got just the one day of good weather, so we made a dash for it as soon as the marina gate opened at 2 pm. It was only 30 nm to Treguier and we motor sailed it in light winds and a big tide. We arrived in Treguier at 6.30 pm, having had a fair tide all the way to the marina which is 5nm inland, arriving at slack water.

The next two days, it poured with rain and blew hard again! Finally on June 1^st we were able to continue to Guernsey in a light following wind and bright sunshine. We left the marina at 8 am, after the early morning mist had cleared, and arrived in St Peter Port at 6.30 just as there was enough water to enter the marina. So here we are, so near to England, but yet so far away. We plan to stay here for three days, but the winds are going round to the north, so we could be in for a longer stay! The next hurdle is the Alderney race, which demands favourable conditions of wind and tide.

Skipper’s Log 2006 – Part 6 - Canal du Midi

                                            Skipper’s Log2006 – Part 6  Canal du Midi

Tuesday, 19th September, at 8 am found us ready at the mast crane in Sete. Two men came to operate the crane and help us get the mast down. I had constructed two wooden supports for the mast – having brought timber across town strapped to the bike! The de-masting went like clockwork – the two men knew their stuff.

As soon as we were ready, we set off through the Port of Sete, but had to wait in the Nouveau Bassin until 6pm for the bridges to open, (our guide book said the first three opened on demand).

 Waiting for the bridge.

The First two bridges opened together followed by the canal lateral and railway bridges which opened just after 7 pm, after a high speed train had passed. This gave us just an hour of daylight to cross the Etang de Thau to Bouzigues. We moored alongside a canal barge, and Paul and I went off for a meal at a local restaurant ( Rie had an early night as she wasn’t feeling very well). I sampled the locally grown oysters and mussels – the northern half of the lagoon is given over to oyster and mussel beds.

The next day, on 20^th September, we sailed the 15km along the length of Etang de Thau to the entrance of the Canal du Midi near Marseillan. The canal was very shallow up to the first lock, and the banks in poor condition. We bought our vigniette at the round lock near Agde. This is also the junction with the canal leading to the l’Herault river. The VNF man in the office (Voie Navigation de France) was very friendly and spoke good English. He gave us some good advice about navigating the canal. We thought it would take three weeks, but he insisted we only needed Two – he said it didn’t matter if we took an extra couple of days. We were also surprised that the vigniette only cost 52€ for the two weeks, we had expected to pay more.

 Approaching the Canal du Midi

Although there had been a lot of rain in the previous week, there was only 30 cm of water under our keel and much less near the sides. We stopped the first night at Villeneuve-les Beziers, a pleasant little town. We could not come really close to the bank though as we ran aground

Villeneuve-les Beziers.

The next morning, Poul went off to buy baguettes while we got up – this was to be the routine every morning from now on. The next hurdle was a series of locks through Beziers, one section being a staircase of seven locks. We locked through with three hire boats – we found their company nerve racking as they had little control over their craft, but we came through unscathed.

 The staircase lock at Beziers.

After Beziers came our first tunnel. We had arranged the mast so we could use the spreader light as a searchlight, but were disappointed to find the tunnel was only 400 meters long! We could see all the way through it.

 The Malpass tunnel

We stopped for the night at Capestang, where ahain we could only get within a meter of the bank before we were aground. This was to be the pattern along most of the Canal du Midi. We adopted the routine of putting Poul ashore over the bow before each lock – we could not come alongside many of the landing stages. Just after Port la Robine ( too shallow for us), we came to a quay called Port Minervois where there was a café. Here they had a toilet and showers, and we could also fill up with water, and we stopped the night.

 Port Minervois

The next day we stopped in la Somail for a supermarket. It turned out to be about 3km away beyond the outskirts of the town. We were picked up by a local on the way – just as well, otherwise we would not have found it! We tried to arrange a taxi back, but we were in the country and there would be a delay of two hours – we decided to walk it. Le Somail was a charming little place with a pack horse bridge and an ancient lock up. The stonework of the village reminded me of the Cotswold villages.

 La Somail

Although these little bridges look charming, they do not give much margin for error when we pass under them. The next section contained several locks, including a double and a triple lock. The surge of water into the locks was tremendous, and the sills caused a back eddy which dragged us forward towards the gate. We countered this by running the engine in reverse in the locks.

A triple lock fills

 We stopped at Homps for a night, where there was a nice quay to moor against. We had a fine meal in a canal side restaurant that evening. We continued our steady climb through the vineyards, going through  three double and one triple lock before lunch. The locks remain closed for a lunch hour from 1230 to 1330, forcing us to stop also. At this time of year we can only navigate between 9am and 7 pm, after 1^st October the locks stop operating at 6 pm.

As we came to Saturday (23^rd September), there was hardly any traffic on the canal and locking through was much easier. We put this down to the fact that most hire boats are returned on a Satutday and the new hirers don’t set off until Sunday. We sailed 63 km and stopped at Carcassonne, where there is a large bassin. Again, we couldn’t come right in to the bank.

Carcassonne mooring.

The next day we visited the old fortified city in Carcassonne, la Cité, before continuing. Today, Rie got her wish of having plants on board, two hanging baskets now hang from the lowered mast!

 Rie gets her plants.

 La Cité, Carcassonne.

There was still little traffic as we continued our uphill journey. We had a night stop near the village of Villepinte, and Paul cycled off to buy bread again. The locks in this area were close together so it was easier for Paul to cycle ahead than being set off over the bow at each lock. He had a break after the four locks just before Castelnaudary, as there was a wide area without a towpath.

Castelnaudary

Today, we cme over the watershedat the la Mediterranee lock, which is 983m above sea level. Here the lock keeper was very friendly and offered us a home baked apple tart -it tasted very good. This was a turning point, now we would be descending the locks which is much easier as we can just step off the boat in a filled lock to put our ropes around the bollards. Also as there was less turbulence in the locks, it was easier to hold the boat in place. The locks also became further apart (about 5km), so the bike was on the side deck again.

We stopped at Port Sud near Ramonville, just before Toulouse. We were surprised to find many seagoing yachts laid up here. It was a proper harbour, and we could get showers, water, electricity and fuel. But it was a long way to the shops. Paul and I went off to shop at the Intermarché and it took so long that Rie was convinced we had stopped at a bar somewhere – but we hadn’t. We still saw very few boats on the canal and presumed the hire season must be over.

The next day, 26^th Sept, would be our last day on the Canal du Midi. After passing under the many bridges before Toulouse, we came to a turning area where we made a sharp turn to starboard to enter Canal Lateral la Garonne. Toulouse itself looked very pleasant, with some good secure moorings right in the centre. We even passed an Irish pub!

 Rie helms

The canal Lateral has a very different character, it is deeper, with long straight sections unlike the Canal du Midi which is very winding in places. In the section up to the first lock, we met many row boats, which were all over the place making it difficult to find a way through. Soon after the first lock, we hit something hard and heavy which stopped us in our tracks in the middle of the canal. We backed off and found a way around the obstruction and speculated that it might have been an abandoned car. We reported it at the next lock but the lock keeper didn’t seem very interested. The locks themselves were also very different on this canal – they are straight sided whereas on the Canal du Midi they had concave sides so that two boats could lie side by side. We continued to lock no. 9, just before Saint-Rustice which had closed early for the night. We had hoped to make it to Grisolles, just 4 km further.

On 27^th September we continued along a long stretch without locks until we came to Montech. Here there is a flight of five locks, which can be bi-passed by commercial traffic by use of the “water slope”. This has the appearance of two locomotives on rubber tyres, each side of the of a long slope which acts as a tug to push or pull the barges along the slope. They must open sluices to allow ataer into the slope to allow the barges to float. It looked very redundant and a bit of a white elephant as there is no commercial traffic these days. The slope was opened as late as 1974.

The water slope

After Montech, most of the locks were automated. On arrival at a lock, there is a long rubber pole hanging down which has to be given a twist to activate the lock. When the lock is ready, a green light appeared, and we could then enter the lock and set up our ropes. Then we had to press a button to close the gate behind us, empty the lock, and open the down gates – all automatically.

Activating a lock

 Activating the automatic process.

All went well until we reached lock no. 28, just before Pommevic. A boat coming the other way warned us there was a problem ahead. When we reached it there was a hire boat lodged under the lock gate, which was off its hinges, and the hydraulic ram was bent. The VNF crash team were already there and said they hoped to repair it before nightfall – or the day after! We met the unlucky couple who had hired the boat – they said their rope broke – they had clearly been sucked forward into the gate as the lock was filling. Being automatic, there was no lock keeper to stop the lock filling further, and the hire boat ended up in a spectacular nose down attitude.

 A hire boat trapped in a lock

At 4 pm a mobile crane arrived to lift the 17 ton boat clear of the lock gate and to help repair the lock gate. They lifted the gate clear and replaced the hydraulic ram. The VNF team worked hard and just after 7 pm the lock gate was repaired. We settled down for the night in a thunderstorm.

 Lifting the hire boat clear of the lock gate.

At 9 am promptly the next day, we approached the lock carefully, but all went well and we got away from lock no. 28. When we came to lock no. 32, we encountered a different control system. We turned the handle to close the upper gate, and the lock emptied fine –however the lower gate didn’t open to let us out! Rie climbed the ladder and pressed the call button and explained the situation. They said someone would come. We read the instructions again and realised we had to open the handle a second time to open the gate. From now on the locks were only semi-automatic. The morning was very wet and we stood in our dripping raingear, almost until we reached Agen, where we would stop for the day.

Poul tried to find an internet café here – without success. We couldn’t hack into the strong university WiFi net either. We walked into town in the evening and had a Chinese meal. On the way back, it poured with rain again and it continued through the night.

On Sunday, 1^st October, it still rained most of the morning. After Agen there was an aquaduct over the Garonne river, followed by four locks. We ran aground between the last two locks – the water level in this pound being considerably lower. It took a while to work ourselves free of this “bar”, caused by the overflow sluice water. Generally the water level was at its highest, giving us 70 cm under the keel.

It cleared up in the afternoon and we carried on through the “lunch hour”, unimpeded by locks. Today’s stretch of canal was very natural looking, with trees and bushes overhanging the water’s edge on both sides. We stopped for the night at a quay just before the town of Mas –D’Agenais. There were no bollards, so we hammered our iron stakes in instead. Just beyond us was a boat hire place and some Danes came past us who were about to return their boat. The skipper came back later to talk to us and shared a beer. He came from Frederiksværk, just across the fjord from our home port of Kignæs. During the day, we saw many kingfishers flying along the bank. We saw one catch a minnow, and fly off with it. We have also seen many herons along the way. The next day, we continued for 20 km and stopped early at a Halte Nautic in Meilhan sur Garrone. Here we could come alongside the quay without going aground and had water and electricity for the grand sum of 2€.

Meilhan

Later, we helped a Tasmanian couple in and we got talking. We ended up going out for an evening meal together at a canal side pizzeria – the only restaurant open. The others had already closed down for the season. The Tuesday was wet, with gale force winds. The wind stripped the leaves off the trees and even took complete branches off. The VNF men were busy clearing up, and we heard there were trees down across the canal. There was also a power cut in the area. We decided to stay on in Meilhan for the day. In the morning the owner of a steel ketch “Salamander” came over and we exchanged some books and maps. He wanted the Balearics, and I got lots of good charts and information on Brittany. Don was over-wintering in Meilhan on his way to the Med as his sister lived nearby. I gained some useful information on the tidal part of the Garronne, which he had just sailed up. He and Poul went off in a van to a supermarket in a larger town, armed with a shopping list.

It dried up a bit in the afternoon, and we went for a walk around the village. I also studied the French Almanac I had been given for the tide times for the sail down to Bordeaux and Pauillac. After the strong winds, the canal was carpeted in fallen leaves.

Wednesday was calmer, although it rained early in the morning. We said goodbye to Jeff, Lis and Don and left Meilhan. We sailed the first 8 km to the first lock, avoiding as best we could the fallen trees. When we got there, the lock was not working. We called up VNF from the intercom panel, and they said there was someone on the way. After about an hour, a man came and operated the lock manually for us. The evidence of the previous day’s storm was clear, with uprooted trees, some in the canal, and a mass of smaller branches and leaves which clogged our propeller several times.

 Fallen trees

Just after the little harbour at Fontet, we were waved to a stop by a VNF man, who said the navigation was closed due to a fallen telephone cable. We motored back to the harbour and inched our way in and waited. The rain poured down, but eventually the VNF man came back to tell us we could continue. We were also told that lock 51 was on manual and that it would be opened in an hour’s time. When we arrived there, we had to wait for the lock keeper to come, but he turned out to be the same man that would open the sea lock for us next day. We arranged to meet him at 0745 the next day for our last two locks. After eventually getting through lock no. 51, we found a nice Halte Nautic – a long pontoon with water and electricity, and were helped in by Eric Walton. He was moored further along in his Dutch built motor boat. We were invited aboard for drinks by Angie, and the evening went by very quickly in good company.

Thursday 5^th October saw us through our last lock just after 8 am. It was still barely light and a mist rose from the waters of the Garonne

 On the Garronne

There was a good current, and we moved along nicely at 8 knots, avoiding the tree trunks in the river. The river was not buoyed until Bordeaux, so it was necessary to keep a track of our progress by crossing off the km posts on our chart. We also had to take care of the shallow areas, particularly on bends. As we neared Bordeaux, the current increased as the tidal influence became more apparent, and we actually covered the 42 km in four hours. We moored to the waiting pontoon, near Hangar Quay, just upriver of the marina lock entrance. There were many fairly new shops and bars on the quay, and we found a place for our evening meal. The current rushed past and we heard an occasional branch hit the hull. When we came back from the restaurant, we fished a bushy branch out from our rudder.

 Clearing the rudder.

The next day(6^th October), we were up early again to catch the tide down the next section of river. Now, the river was buoyed and we could follow our electronic chart, which made life much easier. The current was even stronger than before and we checked our speed on the gps to be 11 knots at one time. That meant a current of 6 knots. We arrived at Pauillac at 11am, having sailed 25 miles in 3 hours. The tide was still rushing out. and there didn’t seem to be enough water at the entrance. There was a pontoon on the outside, so we moored to that to wait for slack water. Around 4pm, conditions became very rough on the pontoon and our wooden toe rail started splitting as we bounced onto the pontoon. A local sailor – Jean Pierre – offered to pilot us into the harbour, and we gladly accepted. By this time there was about 3m of water in the narrow winding entrance. All went well, and we moored on a reception pontoon near the entrance. We were very glad to be inside, away from the strong current, although there was still an appreciable current through the harbour.

Pauillac entrance at low water

After talking with Jean-Pierre, we decided to over winter here. We had already decided we would have Restless hauled out for the winter. The next day I talked to the harbour master and we agreed to be hauled out on 12^th October, when tidal conditions were more suitable. They had a hydraulic trailer for the job and the lift out went smoothly. I had to motor on to the trailer front and then the hydraulic arms lifted the stern.

Hauling out.

We were surprised how our antifouling paint had almost completely eroded away, leaving a thick crust of barnacles to colonise the hull. We scraped the worst of it away, we will finish the job next year before repainting her bottom. The fresh water in the canals had got rid of all traces of weed and slime though.

Barnacles on the hull.

 We found Pauillac a very friendly place. It lies in the heart of the Medoc wine area, and the vineyards start at the edge of town. We saw famous chateau names everywhere, and the local tourist office doubles as a centre for introducing the local wines. They arrange wine tasting, and visits to the various chateaux. We had a very pleasant stay in Pauillac, making the boat ready for winter, although we were told it doesn’t fall below zero here – warm by Scandinavian standards. We lived on the boat ashore for a few days before travelling home to Denmark for the winter.

Rie in a local café bar.

The disadvantage of stopping in this remote corner of France was the difficulty of getting back to Denmark – no cheap flights here. We ended up taking a taxi to Bordeaux, train to Montpelier, and a flight from there to Copenhagen. We could have flown with Air France from Bordeaux to Paris, and then on to Denmark, but it cost more than four times as much.