August 31^st We went to the indoor market first thing. Very cheap good quality food, we stocked up on vegetables, chorizo and other meats. The fish in the market was impressive and I thought a little under sized! 

67 miles form Figueira da Foz to Peniche, a little wind but not to fill the sails as it is SW. It seems to be always the case that wherever we are going the wind blows from there and not to where we are going.

We arrived too late for the harbour master’s office and therefore could not get a key to the marina itself. The problem was therefore, how would we get back in after we had been out for dinner. The boys came up with the solution that they would dive in the marina, swim around to a pontoon and then climb on and hence to the gate to let us in. As it turned out Jordan, monkey like, managed to swing himself around the marina gate and onto the other side to open the gate. Reassured we set off for dinner.

We found a cheap, clean, ‘posh’ looking restaurant near to the marina that was basically glass walled. We had a magnificent view over the marina and good job, just as we finishing the complimentary olives, octopus, cheeses, we saw Molly outside the restaurant. The escape merchant had done it again, this time through India’s hatch and set off to town looking for us. She must have been let out of the marina gate. The restaurant owner was very sympathetic and suggested we tied het to one of their outside tables where she could see us inside. We had swordfish steak, whole sea bass, salmon, squid, bottles of wine all for 100 euros for the seven of us.

A good day and night, back at the boat the lights went out quickly!

August 30^th Porto to Figueira da Foz The day started cold and very foggy. In fact the day didn’t get any better and the wind got worse, 20kn on the nose. It seemed to go on for ever, the kids hibernated below, sleeping off most of the day, even Molly looked fed up.

At Figueira da Fiz we moored at the  slightly intimidating concrete visitors pontoon where we were met courteously by the customs official who wanted to see Molly’s passport as well! Our mooring for the night was a tiny finger pontoon that we managed to squeeze onto with the help of willing hands on the pontoon. One of them turned out to be a fellow ARC rallye member who was making his way single handed in a 42ft cat before his family would join him at Lagos.

At the customs official recommendation we dined out in the main street which was buzzing, it being Saturday night. We ate cheap and cheerful, good service, good food and cheap wine and beer. The evening unlike the day was warm and sunny.  So a good end to an imperfect day.

August 29th A day of indulgence on shore, we visited the distillaries in Porto, interesting and alcoholic. We had to tackle the public transport system, tram and bus but it was well worth it.

We dined on the banks fo the River Douro and watched the dare devil children dive off the bridge into the fast flowing river.

A night cap at the beach bar back at the marina didn't materialise as we were too late, so it was back to the boat for cheese and of course port!

August 28th Sailed or should I say motored to Porto, 68 miles of sea so calm at times it was like a mirror. There was jsut a gentle swell from the Atlantic. Vitually no continental shelf on this part of the coastline. In a very short distance the depth becomes thousand of meters.

The depth doesn't seem to worry the Portuguese who are out there fishing in very very small boats. However most have taken the precaution of twooutboards on the back.

For most of the way we weaved around lobster pots and dodged the occasional fishing boat on autopilot heading in our direction.

About 40miles down the coast we came across Chantalou, a 54ft steel ketch. The boat was registered in Gibralter but the owner clearly hailed from Lancashire. We chatted on the VHF for about 20 mins, they were on the way to Gibralter and then the Canaries. He hoped to go across the Atlantic again but there was 'wife resistance' he said. They had two grandchildren on board, 14 and 17. 

We arrived in Porto about 17:15pm an easy entrance if a bit obscure amid the tankers and fishing boats. A bit like Dover, not too picturesque! but efficient and friendly. Showers to take your skin off and a short walk from a beach, brilliant sand but again surrounded by concrete sea walls. Lot of potential here for development.

After a few beers at the beach cafe we retired to Chilli Oyster for chesse (cheddar and stilton from England), crackers wine and pastis. Tomorrow we plan to explore Porto. 

August 27th No winds today so we motored all the way to Baiona. We started out in a pea soup of a sea fog and despite the forecast of 32^oC we shivered our first three hours to Baiona. Lots of fishing vessels to dodge, the radar worked well, we didn't see most of them but they appeared as red dots on the screen. By 1:00pm all was clear and the sun had broken through.

We decided to anchor in the bay before going into a marina. The kids jumped off the boat and swam around in 19^oC Atlantic. After one or two pastis and a wonderful Thai curry cooked by Becky the adult boys joined the younger boys jumping and diving off the boat. Dave Wilson ever keen to be doing something, decided to scrub the boat as he floated around it, however resolve faded after completion of the port side, so it is port side too as we go into the marina!

Later that evening we moved into Depotivo Marina for the night. Showers this evening and early start off to Porto in the morning.

August 26th Day on land today, we hired a minivan and together with Den and Sadie we set off for Santiago Compostella. This was a trip well worth taking. This impressive Catherdral is said to be the burial place of St Peter and is the third most visited site in Christendom. The building ornate, splendid and huge on the outside is less splendid that say Wells on the inside. A wonderful day in the sun, we ate at a cafe in site of the Catherdral. By the time we arrived back at the marina the evening had arrived.....where did the day go!

August 25^th Fantastic days sailing, 49 miles of northerly winds that got stronger as the day went on: from 5 to 10kn, later 10 to 20kn and finally peaking at 20 to 25kn. We had sunshine all day with a bit of a cold wind. We whistled past the infamous Finisterre Lighthouse at 8kn with the cruising chute flying. Such a famous, or rather infamous lighthouse in the history of sailing, we took lots of pictures. We then had to gybe the cruising chute, a first, it went well as the huge sail at first flew forward and then was hauled in the other side in reverse to fly again. We gybed again but this time a few minutes after the gybe, as we come back down to the Rias, the tack sheet of the cruising chute gave way with a big bang. Instead of flying a big sail we were now flying a huge kite!

All hands on deck to rescue the chute, between us we wrestled it back into the forward cabin. At one point Margaret, brave and desperate to contribute, wrapped herself around the sail as it was drawn in. This was the subject of some merriment later in the day as everyone imagined Margaret taking off again with her kite, with only her little legs dangling above the Atlantic Ocean. Excitement over for the day, the genoa went up and we moved along at a more leisurely pace.

All the time we were being shadowed by Graceful, Den and Sadie  took a better route, we were gybing away, they went out and then came back in gracefully in front of us.

We went into the Marina in Portosin, this time Den and Sadie took our ropes! Portosin is a long way into Ria Muros. We have now reached holiday Atlantic Spain. Lots of bodies on beaches and much more built up.

The scenery along this coastline is stunning. The craggy almost mountainous hills are littered with windmills, these make strange mechanical forests across the hillsides. The sea is deep almost dark blue with big Atlantic rollers that the boat glides over, depths are enormous very quickly as there is little continental shelf here. The Rias are huge in themselves with very different characters, some of which has been imposed on them by their occupants.

We ate on the boat, tried the barbeque out for the first time, it worked well considering the wind factor. Spanish style burgers, (beef with pork, like an old fashioned hamburger), huge prawns, spare ribs and salad and of course some chips! Washed down with plenty of red, the day ended in the sun!

 

August 24^th A leisurely sail to Ria de Camarinas followed a late breakfast. We sailed in tandem with Graceful , Den and Sadie’s 54ft Moody. They took lots of pictures of us under sail and we returned the compliment. Again little wind, it was a mixture of sail and motor. At one point we sneaked up on Graceful apparently under sail, but with a helpful iron Genoa, Den was most impressed with how fleet of foot an Oyster was under sail!

Camarinas is hidden deep inside the Ria, we followed the transits in without problem and headed for the hammer head. A shrill whistle from the harbour master told us to go into a small pontoon slot. A fair amount of bow thruster and an active crew got us in without incident. Going to be tight getting out though.

With Den and Sadie we set off for a restaurant around 7:30pm. Nothing opens until 8:00pm but when it did it was worth waiting for. Another good evening.  

August 23^rd As daylight broke we had fifty miles to go. We all had showers and fresh clothes to arrive in style in La Coruna. On the way in we received a call from Bombardino, they were in South Portugal with laminated sails that were delaminating!

We followed the various transits into the harbour, on the way in we were overtaken by 73,000 tonnes of super tanker going into the same place! We completely missed the turning to the marina, we liked to say it was obscured by the tanker but that was not the case.  If you do not get into the marina immediately behind the breakwater, which is obvious, the second marina is tucked away out of site. At 11:30am we came into Darsena Marina, as usual people took lines. The crew of Celtic Oyster came across to help. A very pretty 485 Oyster.

Marg, Indy and Sam arrived a few minutes later. Great to see them. Den and Sadie followed us in an hour or two later, so we had both made good time.

After a fruitless wander to the chandlery and a few drinks on board Graceful we were all ready to turn in. We had made it across Biscay!!!

August 22^nd   Becky took pictures of the sun rising. The wind did not veer to the North as predicted, if anything it backed and died. We had to put the engine on and motor, from the sky it seemed that we were motoring through the heart  a high pressure and being in the middle there was little wind. There were cumulus clouds heaped up all around us in orderly lines that seemed to form a huge circle.

There were sat nav phone calls during the day and every six hours we sent a ‘spot’ automatic communication email to say all was fine.

During the day we spotted dolphin pods and occasionally one or two would come to race around the bow wave. The highlight was the sudden appearance of a huge grey back arching through the water, behind us was a small school of whales, their water spouts firing into the air. What whale they were we were not sure, could they be fin backs?

Day became night and we motored on toward La Coruna. The watch changed at 3:00am. This night Becky and I slept much more.

August 21^st Up at 5:30am, this is it Biscay here we come. We were at the fuel dock by 6:30am and set off by about 7:00am. As we sat in Dartmouth Becky and I  though this moment would never come and now it had. We had three hundred and forty seven miles of sea in front of us as we motored pass the throng of fisherman on the quay at Camaret. The bay around Camaret was peaceful again, we headed for the open sea and straight on toward the continental shelf. The constant advice had been head for the deep water. Seventy miles off shore the depth changed from a few hundred feet to several thousand feet and we were in the Atlantic ocean proper.

Later in the day we got the cruising chute out and the boat flew along in relatively light air. We left this huge sail up until 11pm. Becky and I were on watch and the winds were beginning to freshen, so we took the chute down in the pitch black, and kept her going on main and genoa only. The moon took two to three hours to rise above the horizon. The only light for that time were the stars, it was so very dark, there was the constant whoosh of Chilli Oyster slicing through the black ocean. It is incredible how much time you can spend watching this ever so slightly changing scene, hours go by without noticing them disappear. When the moon came it was bright and three quarters full.

Dave and Jordan came on watch at 2am and Becky and I went below to sleep but neither of us got much that night. Becky sent this email to friends and family whilst at sea

 

 

August 20^th We have decided to stay in Camaret as the weather forecast for crossing the Biscay is not good. It looks like Thursday will be our big day. Before we got up Bob and Elaine had set off and disappeared somewhere south into the Biscay itself.  Our day comprised odd jobs on the boat and a walk into Camaret, the weather was indifferent, one of those shall I wear a rain coat or not days. In Camaret we ran into Dennis and Sadie. They joined up to go to the Bon Marche, the chandlery and crepes for lunch.

Camaret is a jolie little town, with a good sized marina. As you walk along the sea walls from the marina you come to a poignant site of four large fishing boats that have been driven aground and left to slowly die on the rocks inside the harbour walls. Two of these are particularly large boats that once must have majestically  plied their trade and delivered fish to a waiting local industry to process...now all gone. We notice that many people stop and look at the hulks lying there, there must be many plans in many heads as they stop and stare.

On the quayside itself there is an equally magnificent specimen of a fishing boat that is undergoing preservation as an example of its type for posterity.

Our day in Camaret was not a bright sunny one but it was good and we ended it with another night with Den and Sadie and Richard and Angela. This time we picked a really good restaurant, though not expensive, followed by drinks and stilton on our boat. Dennis reverted to Brummie jokes, being a man from Wolverhampton. ‘You know the one about a Brummie fishing in the canal and says to his mate I caught a “whale”, a “whale” says his mate, “Ah” he says “ it weren’t no good though it had no spokes in it”. And the Brummie who goes for a job interview in his brand new kipper tie, the interviewer looks at the tie and says “Aih kippa toiy”, he replies “Moins two sugars”’. After a few drinks and port, whisky, limoncello or whatever your poison is with the stilton, such humour goes down a storm as they say.

 

August 19^th After a night being crushed by a big cat rafted up to us and another boat on the outside of him, we decided to move to Camaret. People were surprised we were moving given the weather but we felt that if we were ten miles down the estuary when we did go it would be that much easier. The departing was cordial if a little tricky as the wind that was blowing the cat onto us throughout the night also kept us against the pontoon, achieving the angle to get past the rafted boats ahead of us took a bit of patience.

The estuary, which was like a mirror when we came in two days ago, had become a 1 to 2 metre chop.  As we rounded the central lighthouse off Presqu’ile de Quelern, we met the biggest wave we have come across so far. I was down below with Becky looking at the Nobeltec Charts. We looked forward out of the pilot house windows, the sky had disappeared and had been replaced by a wall of water, then up she went and over the top like a fairground ride. Becky looked a little pale and ‘our Perfect Storm moment’ came out of her mouth. But it soon got quieter as we passed the constriction that was causing the water to pile up.

By Camaret it was fairly quiet again, lots of swell. We moored up on the outside of the wave break in front of an Oyster 46, ‘Sophistikate’. Richard the owner helped with our lines. We put extra warps on because of the swell. Later in the evening we went for drinks on board Sophistikate. Richard and Angela supplied the wine, Jordan met Oscar their son of similar age and we were joined by Dennis and Sadie and Bob and Elaine. Then off to a Restaurant to find a table for 11! Lots of fairly ribald talk about boys liking boats and the girls having to go along with the men’s toys, so the men had better be nice to the ladies and not shout and scream at them when things go wrong! Story of the night was from Dennis who had been around the globe twice, off a South Sea Island he had swum with the Manta Rays and followed the local’s example of hanging onto their backs. When his started to take off he let go, fearing it was getting agitated, the big fish swam around in a great arc and came up below him and he held on again for a second ride......fantastic!

 

Aug 18th

A very bouncy night with lots of ropes straining and creaking, I must admit I didn’t sleep well – the great feeling of achievement and relief I had felt when we completed our first crossing without incident has been driven away by the rough weather and worrying forecasts and I am now dreading the Biscay crossing as much as I had worried about the channel crossing – what a difference a couple of days can make!  When planning a crossing you look not only at wind speed and direction but also wave height. The wave height for the channel crossing was forecast at about 2M and as we mentioned before, plenty of sailors advised us beforehand that this was going to be a big sea, the forecast for Biscay tomorrow is 5-6M wave height! This is caused by the huge low we are currently experiencing, and although the wind is due to die down tomorrow, the seas usually take a bit longer to settle. As a result we are probably going to delay setting off for 24hrs and we currently plan to leave at 6am Wed morning.  So there are another couple of days of boat sorting (and relaxing with French wine!) ahead of us.

Aug 17^th

Awoke to blue skies but quite a rough sea, which got gradually worse as the day progressed.. Quite a sight really when we are 20 miles in land!  The big cat with our new French friends left at 5am. Dave Wilson, or Captain Chivers as he is known locally (old English and rough cut) arrived mid morning – a very welcome addition to our crew! So we moved Jordan out of his cabin again and prepared the boat for our fourth member of crew.  Walked up to get moules & frites late afternoon but the kitchen was closed so had to make do with a wooden board full of chorizo sausage! 2 litres of beer and a bottle of red wine later we went back to the boat. The sea was now really rough and whilst we were moored on the ‘inside wall of the South breakwater, a huge brand new motorboat opposite us was moored on the exposed side and he was bouncing up and down so much he blew a line rather dramatically.  So we then had an hour or so of excitement.

Always ready to race to action, Jordan jumped on board with the South African skipper, who was a bit fraught as he fought to save the stern platform from being smashed under the concrete pontoon. Dave (my Dave) took over fending off the concrete pontoon, Dave W grabbed a new bow line. However it was so bad on the outside that we helped the skipper bring the boat into the safe haven of the marina. Jordan jumped on board and whilst he brought the boat round Jordan raced round working frantically, he set all the fenders on the right side and rigged the lines, Dave, Chivers and I waited on board the boat in front of us and caught the lines so we could secure him to the pontoon. 20 minutes into the process another large Cat appeared and rafted up to us, so we had more lines to take and another bouncy boat to secure. The skipper of the motorboat is shorthanded and is looking for crew to take the boat down to Bordeaux and Jordan is now utterly convinced he is the man for the job, I think the 52in plasma screen in the salon has also played a small part in this desire!

 

Later that night Bombardino made contact by Sat Phone. It was good to hear the guys, they were safe, just 30 to 40nm off La Coruna. Out in the Biscay for seven hours during the night they had had 40 kn winds and had to tack their way through it all. Their technique was to lash the helmsman from both sides to the back of the boat for safety on this largely open transom boat, while the others kept watch from the safety of the cockpit. Karel was pleased with the boat throughout but they were all very tired and had abandoned the plan to keep going for ten days. A day or two in La Coruna should see them recovered. It was quite an emotional moment to hear their voices, we had wondered how they were doing as we were sheltering in what was clearly terrible weather out there.

 

Aug 16^th

Well we certainly slept soundly last night – on arrival in Brest we went up to the bar, Dave drank a litre of French beer and we had moules frites, we came back to the boat and Dave was asleep before his head hit the pillow.  We were then woken up this morning early by a huge Catamaran that was mooring (rafting) up alongside us, they said they had come in to escape the gales! They had come round from Ireland and had had a terrible trip! I guess they were only about 15-18hrs behind us but it clearly made a huge difference – it’s all in the timing and this time we got our timing right. Later on in the evening we were invited on board the Cat to have a bottle of French wine – they said it was because we had made them so welcome!  I’m not sure everyone would think that Dave in his dressing gown at 5 in the morning was such a welcoming sight – but it obviously worked for them!

 

August 14^th & 15^th

Jordan, Becky and I set off from Dartmouth to Brest (160 nm) if you go around the head at Brest, which we probably will as it will be dark. We set off 1.5h after our new friends in Borbardino. Their 45ft Beneteau first looked good as it set off out of Dartmouth. Before we set off we had several witches warnings from fellow boaters that went along the lines ‘after the last two days of gales’ it is going to be big out there!’. Becky’s apprehensions were of course soothed by these caring remarks and so I promised that if she was ill at ease at anytime we would return to Dartmouth.

I said goodbye to several good guys who had helped us at Dartmouth most notably Dave Dart, unfortunately I did not see John the owner or Chris who did the work on our ‘through hulls’ with Alex, or Rob who did the engine. When I did this I knew what I had promised Becky so was a little concerned that egg would be all over me if we returned. My plan was to at least get round Start Point, before I gave in to her demand to return, so then Salcombe would be closer!!

As we left Dartmouth the entrance had a swell running through it, not a good sign, by the time we approached Start Point we were in short 1 to 2 metre waves that were confused but the boat made light work of these. As we drew nearer 2 metres were more common than 1 and we were taking some over the bow but not over the pilot house windows, so nowhere near Dover proportions. Becky, who had been Marina bound for too long, looked a little nervous but soon we were past Start Point and we moved away from the confusion. At 10 miles out the sea was much more constant, bigger but longer in period and hence much more gentle.

As day turned to night we motor sailed on. We kept in touch with Bombardino throughout the night, by about 2:00am they were little more than a mile from us. Because we had motor sailed a more direct route and they had sailed and tacked we had caught them up. Karel, the owner, continued to talk to us. I think he was concerned, a little, and protective, a little. We appreciated the company as we sailed on into the night. The almost full moon shone over the black waves and then we were into the shipping lanes. For the next few hours we played spot the tanker, with the aid of the AIS we could see where they were headed. Occasionally we had to alter course to avoid a near miss situation, in the blackness such monsters are both friend and foe. Nice to see something else out there but deadly if they touch you.

The rhythm of the night sea took over as we journeyed on. It was still dark when we approached Ile de Ouissant, we were confused by the generous array of lights and so we opted to go round rather than between the Islands, longer but safer and we were in no hurry.

The sun rose to a clear sky and lit the islands as we rounded Pierre do Noir. The sea was big, as we passed the light houses, and beam on. At 2 to 3 metres high, I wondered how big it got in bad weather, I looked anxiously at Becky who said ‘This is really nice, so gentle up and down, like a children’s fairground ride’.

A poignant moment was our final radio call to Bombardino as she set off into the Biscay, we wished her bon voyage. Becky took a picture as she disappeared over the waves.

Throughout the journey the US grib file had been accurate with regard to wind prediction, Clear Point had completely missed the all important Westerly that had helped us across during the night. Both had over estimated the strength of the wind.

The disadvantage of Brest is that it takes about two hours to get in. An old naval base hidden away in a vast bay. We past the naval dockyard and the commercial yard and followed the buoys to Moulin Blanc marina. The passage was much easier that it appeared and even though it was low water there was plenty of depth for the keel. As we arrived we were welcomed by the harbour master. Becky’s fingers nearly caught fire as she text our arrival to everyone! After phone calls we set off for the harbour master’s office avec le chien. On the way Molly, who had refused to perform on her astro turf all the way over, blessed the French countryside with several deposits of her own (which of course we bagged). In the office were greeted, the fee was half the price of anywhere we had paid in England, there were no requirements for papers, even Molly’s. Next to the office was the bar/restaurant. I had a litre of beer and a huge bowl of curried moules et frites, Becky had vodka and tonic, which they gave to Jordan by mistake, and another huge bowl, this time of cream moules et frites. Jordan, his usual adventurous self, had a club sandwich! Molly, who sat by our side throughout, did well on left over moules. The place was busy, jaunty and alive and above all else there was no one patrolling and telling you want you can and can’t do, you just did and relaxed.

Back at the boat, after the beer and the 24h sojourn across the water,  I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. We rallied for an hour or two in the evening, managed a sundowner and some remnants of Devon, a Cornish pastie! What a two days, we had started on our journey at last.

August 13^th US grib file started the day, it still looks good for Thursday to go.  

We started working through our check list when disaster struck, the computer refused to boot and all our systems, AIS, radar charts are computer based. We have some back up, like charts but .... After frantic calls to Fox’s and others it seems we had encountered a bug that is internal to the computer.  It switches the computer from external screen to internal screen. To the uninitiated and indeed to some of the experts we spoke to,  it looks like a hard disc crash!!

Crisis over we went to dinner with the Dutch: Karel, Hank, Lem and Wolf... (apologies to them for the spelling). We went to Sails, again for us, new to them. The food was excellent as usual and a great evening was had by all. Karel insisted on paying and said we would have plenty of opportunity to pay him back in Gran Canaria before we set off on the ARC. Three of these guys are in their 60s, Wolf... was much younger. The three had known each other for many many years. All married men the previous night they had sat down to watch a movie and chose Broke Back Mountain. The film centres on the story of a love affair between two gay cowboys , it is very emotional as they struggle with their love and of course ends in tragedy. However for four large heterosexual Dutch males in a confined space on board a 45ft yacht, the poignancy was replaced by extreme discomfort, they did not get to see the end because they switched it off!! You know those moments, when your table at a restaurant burst out laughing, you are so loud you look around and everyone is looking at you, we had one of those moments! It was a good evening with a great bunch of guys.

Tomorrow we will sail away!

August 12^th The highlight of today was the curry we had at the restaurant in the evening. The rest of the day was a non descript, chores and work and more US Grib files.

The highlight of tomorrow may well be the curry! Over did the chillies.

August 11^th Jordan went fishing today on African Queen. It was supposed to be an all day affair but because the weather was so rough, by lunch time many of those on board felt sick (not Jordan), so a premature lunch time return  caught Becky and I in the pub in Dartmouth. Our lazy afternoon was postponed for another day.

Jordan’s catch comprised Whiting, Mackeral and a Sardine, later said to be a Pilchard. I reserved two Whiting and the Sardine. Jordan ‘gave’ away the rest. The Dutch had some Whiting and Mackeral (which they enjoyed). Before Becky could cook my selection, Molly helped herself to the Sardine. I was cutting some brackets, out of wood, for the kitchen when I heard some crunching bone noises; by the time I got to the scene, only the tail fin remained, poking out of the side of Molly’s mouth, it soon followed the rest! The Whiting were very good! 

In the evening we had more pints in the Ship with the Dutch and the locals. It was a late evening enjoyed by all.

 

 

August 10^th I have had several complaints about the lack of up keep of the diary. Becky has been doing her best in terms of latest news but I have allowed the diary to fall into disarray. So here goes, I am going to work backwards through a series of ‘developments’. First thing to say is we are still in Dartmouth; this is not a bad place to be and on a sunny day is as fine as anywhere.

At Marg and Dave’s so late breakfast and off to see a group of friends for lunch.  Good food, good company and real ale to match. During lunch we received a ‘very concerned’ call from the Marina to say Chilli Oyster was spouting water from a ‘through hull’ just above the water. The location suggested it was the fridge/freezer outlet. Our Dutch friends had tried to get into the boat to investigate but Jordan had locked it on this occasion, on any other he may not have done. By the time we returned to Dartmouth Jordan had hung a sign on the boat to say "this is not a bilge pump, it is the refridgerator cooling!" Apparently he had had seven enquiries, good that people are so caring.

Spent the early evening pouring over the synoptic charts with the Dutch guys, we agree that there appears to be a weather window opening up as from Thursday.  We could at least get to Brest before the next ‘low’ comes in. Sit in Brest until Sunday and then after the next low has gone through set off South to Bayona. Let’s hope this plan comes together, it certainly looked good by the time the pub’s closed!

August 9^th Decided as this was going to be another wet weekend to become land bound, hired a car from Paignton and set off for Marg and Dave’s. Put some extra warps on Chilli Oyster and set off for Lyme Regis. It rained and rained and rained but in true British style we went to an outside 25^th Wedding Anniversary (Dave’s sisters Danni and Guy), and stood outside in a tent that was threatening to launch itself skyward throughout the whole evening. Guy is a Kiwi so the highlight of the evening was when he dug up the Hungi and a great feast was had by all. A Hungi is when you bury a mass of food in the ground above a smouldering fire and leave it for 4 to 5 hours to cook. It comes out moist and deliciously slow cooked. Lots of whole chicken, joints of pork, beef and lamb all topped over with sweet potato, potato and carrots...great stuff. Oh and real ale but I was driving so just two pints all night.

August 8^th Where did the morning go! Well we got out this afternoon while Jordan was off on a fishing trip. Just the two of us but we got the cruising shute up although the wind was very odd, ranging from 2 knots to 20 so not the steady breeze that the sail requires however we proved the point and feel quite good about flying this sail when we get into more predictable clines.

On the way back picked up Dave and Meryl from the pontoon and motored up to Dittisham, turned out to be a lovely British Summer evening. If only this weather would last.

Jordan returned with lots of fish, some of which we kept the rest we told to give away. He returned with £8:50 as most people said that they had to make some contribution.

Met some great guys from the Netherlands, four of them on a 45ft Beneteau 1^st, 3 weeks old, they are waiting for a weather window like us, so we don’t feel so bad about being cautious now. They have had lots of experience. One of them had sailed the Atlantic three times single handed in the Plymouth to Rhode Island Race! Lots of reassuring stories about Biscay if you are patient!

August 7^th Today I have at last managed to unblock our loo, this has been a continuing saga, the hose pipe down the waste, clamped into it to retain the pressure succeeded in disturbing something that had no place in a marine toilet. It seems that all signs of white mice may have removed.

No sailing today just moving around the marina from berth to berth, big practice sail day tomorrow. Oh and we paid Darthaven lots of cash for the gate valve to ball valve repairs.

August 6^th  A working day today. Becky did the accounts and prepared the tax returns so we are ahead of schedule. I spent the day completing the reinstallation of the cockpit bilge pump, which proved to be a real wrestle with the 1.5 inch waste pipe that had been used on the old one. The technique of warming the ends with either boiling water or a hair drying went well up until the last join, which was the most inaccessible and by far the most recalcitrant in terms of the pipe would not go over the coupling piece. Holding a boiling kettle some two feet above your ahead with a stiff pipe in the kettle is not the safest way to DIY. After much puffing and sweating, and one and a half hours, the pipe gave in and the joint was made. I had then to put the strainer and non-return valve back on at the bilge end. I had retrieved this from the bilge sometime ago and washed it out. Unfortunately Becky had thrown it out as I had left it in the galley. Jordan bought a new strainer complete with non return valve from the chandlery. I put the hose into the bilge and filled it and then we pumped. It worked; we have now a cockpit bilge pump with a 4 metre lift!

Atlantic spars turned up half way through my wrestle with the pipe, this was blessed relief. Together we got the main sail out, dropped it, checked it, raised it again and then removed the string that had been put on at Fox’s. We realigned the central shackle to pull directly in line with the luff of the sail and tied on with Spectra, which is designed for this type of job. The 4mm cord has a breaking strain of c.600lbs, which when doubled and trebled does the job in a way which is more sympathetic than a twisted shackle.

August 5^th The failure of the Plastimo 1038 bilge pump to raise water from our bilges has meant that we now have a hole in the cockpit that is too large to take the Jabsco bilge pump. In the Chandlery in Dartmouth we found a 6inch speaker that fitted the hole perfectly and may even be useful when we get to that desert Island in the Caribbean. I will need to cut a new hole for the Jabsco.

Weather awful today rainy with few bright spells, however we are being picked up tonight for a meal at a friend’s house. So it is food on dry land and a car ride which is getting to be quite a novelty.

Alison and Nigel’s hospitality was much appreciated. They have done a splendid job rearranging walls and rooms; their place looks a picture now. Made Becky think of the house we have left behind.

August 4^th    After the debacle of Saturday and Becky’s concerns we decided to go out today just the two of us. I acted as crew and Becky gave the orders re-sails etc. Most were staying the marina, force 4/5 peaking at 6/7. We tacked and gibed through mostly white tops and heeled over (by the end of it more than the day before). It was fun and Becky regained much of her confidence, the seas were equally if not more rough and lots of beam on waves as we tacked and gibed about. We practised the course we would take eventually when the weather is in our favour.

We are reviewing US Grib files every day, we have now a problem as India will return from Portugal at a time when we might be half way down the French coast, we may be stuck until she returns from Portugal.

August 3^rd Much more leisurely day, took Margarita up to Dittisham and spent time in the Ferry Boat Inn for lunch. They had a raunchy rock band, average age of band member 50 plus, playing outside on the quay side. Great lead singer, apparently she had been in the business for many, belted numbers out like a cross between Janis Joplin and Van Morrison! Deep and raunchy, however like many of us in the age group the band was rather paunchy but good sounds. Found out later that she used to be Dizzie Gillespie’s partner, so big jazz heritage. 

August 2^nd  Lots of people down for weekend - some staying with us and some on Marg and Dave's boat. Dave and Marg arrived the night before - we immediately opened a bottle and the evening disappeared! At around 11.30 we thought we needed to ferry them and all their gear plus half of sainsburies over tio there boat which is on a pontoon not connected to the Marina, unfortunatley the outboard wouldn't start..again!! And there was a huge tide flowing undre the boat so we would never have rowed against it - we sat for another hour waiting for the tide to turn and then in the dark and a little worse for wear rowed them across to their pontoon!

The next day we all went out sailing - With Tony, Row, Helen, Mike, George, Dave, Margaret, Becky, Jordan and me, we set off for a sail in  Chilli Oyster, the sails went up the boat heeled over with Jordan at the helm and away she went. Unfortunately we did have too much sail up for 25 knots of wind gusting to 30. The mixture of those on board meant that while some were revelling in it, others were being sick over the side and Becky became nervous and concerned for everyone.

We reduced canvass but the damage was done.