Here is me helming the Camper Nicholson 55 (Nic 55) named "Chaser", during our trip accross the Bay of Biscay. The winds were 35 knots, gusting to over 40, (70-80km/hr), waves around 12-15 ft with the odd big one thrown in. A mild day on the Bay.
How was the trip? The question every asks, and its a question that is so hard to answer, because its complicated. The short answer is that it was good, I am glad I did it, but its not my kind of cruising. The standard response to that is; it was a delivery, not a cruise; Exactly.....
The long answer is a lot different. Being a delivery, there are times, although good experiences, that are not that much fun. Like seasickness in 25 knots and lumpy seas, or a boat that is constantly trying to throw you around like a rag doll, or trying to cook while going to windward in 35 knots of wind, or all of those at once. And then there are times that are absolutely wonderful, calm starry nights, or beautiful conditions for a perfect sail. The problem was that when it was bad, I was thinking, this is stupid, why go out in nasty weather and beat to windward when you don't need to; and when it was good, all I could think about was that I was on the wrong boat with the wrong crew.
Don't get me wrong, the boat was a mighty machine, to be respected, and the crew were a great group of people, but the boat wasn't Vita, and the crew wasn't Serena.
Other than that it was a wonderful trip, full of good experiences, good ideas, and of course the personal pride we all get from having crossed the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. Two of the nastiest pieces of water in the world. I know from past adventures, that no matter how negative I may feel about the trip, eventually I will only remember the good things, the stories, and the sense of accomplishment.
Synopsis:
Saturday: Arrived in London, train to Portsmouth, crashed in hotel, exhausted.
Sunday: We were supposed to start, but they delayed us a day, so we took the train to Southhampton to see the boat show, one of the best in the world. It was nice, but I think its reputation was a little over-blown. Bowmore scotch had a booth there, so definitely not a wasted trip.
Monday: Arrived to the boat, and it was trashed. The boat we were supposed to take was in an accident 3 weeks prior, so they pulled this one out of refit, but it was no where near ready. It took us the better part of 3 days to clean, fix, and load the boat.
Wednesday: Afternoon, finally left the dock, did some practice maneuvers, and then docked up in Lymington on the Solent for the night. The winds were light, but we were off the dock.
Thursday: We left Lymington at O'dark stupid to catch the tide. It was a beautiful overnight sail across and out of the English channel to Camaret Sur Mer, France. The winds were 15 knots, over the aft quarter, with 10 to 15 ft seas, it was great sailing.
Saturday: We stayed in Camaret, rested up, loaded up on food, I did my laundry, we drank way too much, and enjoyed the fruits of the French coast.
Sunday: We left Camaret a little late to catch the outgoing tide, but there was no wind for the first 18 hours as we headed out into the North Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay. The water was as clear as glass, with a greenish/blue color. We were visited by dolphins, a monstrous jelly fish and lot of sea birds.
Monday: By early morning the winds had started to fill in, and Chaser once again became a sailboat. The winds continued rising until we were pounding into big waves, with 25 knots of wind, reefed down to little scraps for sails, pushing to windward. It was pretty obnoxious, and I found my seasickness level. At 10AM I took my post as cook with one of the Brits, but Mal-de-Mer put me under, and I spent the next 18hrs in my bunk. Anymore than 15 mins out of it, and I lost all my strength, and the ability to hold up my own body. It was nauseating, but I never threw up, one of my other problems, but I wish I could have.
Tuesday: More of the same weather, but we closing on the coast of Spain. I was feeling much better, but still couldn't kick the upset stomach. We docked in Viviero, Spain, late in the day, and crashed, exhausted.
Wednesday: We stayed put for the day, one because we we're ahead of schedule, and two, because we just needed some badly needed rest. I did some more shopping, it takes a lot of food to feed 9 people, walked around a little, but spent lots of time sleeping. I still wasn't feeling good, so obviously something other than seasickness was ailing me, what I haven't got a clue.
Thursday: We had to wait for the tide to come in, because we were sitting on bottom. So I went and picked up a few beer, just to make sure we'd have some when we got to La Coruna, Spain, that evening. None of the locals were going anywhere, as the weather forecast was bad, "light-bulb". It was a 50 mile trip, and it took us 19 hours. The winds were 35 knots, gusting up over 40, for most of the trip, and of course, right from the direction we needed to go. Ironically, this was fun, and I really enjoyed this part of the trip, but it could be because I was starting to feel a little better, and, well, it was awesome.
Friday: We arrived early, very early, in the morning. By the time we fueled up, and got a slip in a marina, all we wanted to do was sleep. We did go for a stroll into town in the afternoon, had appetizers and beers, then dinner at a nice restaurant. Then crash, exhaustion.
.
Saturday: We cleaned the boat, from stem to stern. And did we clean. It took us most of the day. At 3pm, we were done, so I decided to take a walk through the city. 5 hrs, and who knows how far, but it was nice to get away from the boat, and do something on my time, under my terms. I got back to the boat just in time to have a shower and meet the rest of the crew for dinner at a local restaurant.
Sunday: We flew back to London.
Monday: Flew home, to where I belong, back to my beloved Vita, and my pretty wife.
Points of note:
a. The water in the Bay of Biscay, especially in the more southern areas, was impeccable, a deep sapphire blue, I never expected it to be so incredibly beautiful, or so incredibly clean.
b. Europe is beautiful, old, and mature. I hadn't really forgotten, but it has renewed my faith in my belief that Europeans have somehow figured out how to live life, while we North Americans are still playing with our toys.
c. The ocean, although powerful, should be respected, but not feared. At no point in the trip did I feel scared, or even mildly concerned about my own safety. A little irritated with the drips on my bunk, perhaps.
d. Deliveries suck, in comparison to cruising, but I'll bet there are some who will disagree with me. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. I will admit though, that deliveries will give you experience far faster than cruising.
e. And; when an automatic life jacket goes off, it happens slowly, despite that fear that everyone has that it will blow up in your face. I barely noticed when this one went off; of course it could be because I was up to my chest in water.
Imagine if you will; I am sitting on the low side of the cockpit, my mate Ron is steering the boat. A giant wave crests over the bow and washes the length the boat, burying me up to my chest in water as is passes. Then my life-jacket, overcome with grief, inflates itself, making me go below to remove it and replace it with one that was a little easier to move around in.
Overall, it was a great time, although not one I am likely to be repeating anytime soon. I am thankful for my buddy Larry hooking me up, thanks Larry. And, hope to one day be crossing the same strips of water in my own boat. For now its time to refocus, and continue our trip south to warm clear waters, and sunshine that doesn't need to be shoveled.
Here is a video of my helming the Nic 55.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rHN3N1czNM
No comments:
Post a Comment