Up at 0530. We needed an early start for this trip. Some 72 nm, so 12 hrs at 6 kts if we could maintain that. The winds were from the north east or east building during the day from 12 kts to perhaps 20 kts at our arrival time. We had, of course, the shipping lanes to cross, so it was important to plan this correctly.
We dropped the mooring line at 0555 and motored quietly out of the bay (there were perhaps 6 other boats there on moorings). The first waypoint was at the top end of Herm to skirt the rocky outcrops from the island to stretch north. We could then turn onto a course for Dartmouth.
Once turned, the sails went up and the engine off. These were set to the whole journey on the one tack, and we would not drop them until well inside the Dartmouth harbour entrance.
Friday, 3 July 2015
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Sark
A whole day in Sark in my favourite location (la Greve de la Ville) with the prospect of good winds to sail back to Dartmouth the following day. All was well.
We needed a few provisions at the supermarket for the journey home. I needed to revisit the jewellers having had instructions from home... and we wanted to visit the lighthouse and gardens at La Seigneurie.
We launched the rib, David rowed and lifted her well up the beach; tides having been worked our properly. A second climb of the cliff path was still hard going, but perhaps a bit easier than the day before. There are strategically placed benches on the way up, so it is good to sit on the pretence of watching the boat on the bay.
Our timing was good. The Mermaid was open, so we had to drop by having had such a good welcome the day before. Same lady, equally friendly. So something has clearly changed, and for the better. There was a bit of buzz about the place. This weekend was the Sark Folk Festival. They were expecting a thousand visitors each day over the three days (Friday to Sunday) and a bit of a boost to the local business (which are clearly flagging). It would have been nice to have seen some of this, but we had a deadline. Perhaps another year.
Having made a small transaction at the jewellers we walked to La Seigneurie. £4 entry fee was reasonable. The walled garden was fantastic, the ponds less so. David was of course in his element and quizzed the gardener about irrigation and leaky hose pipes. I sat and admired the view.
Time was getting on. How it got to 4:30 I have no idea and we had some shopping to do and a lighthouse to visit.
The shopping was done, but I ducked out of the lighthouse visit. We decided to leave that for another time.
The rib was where we had left it, and back to the boat for the last time before our journey home. So we put the rib on the deck, prepared the boat for the following days sail and had dinner. We had confit de canard, new potatoes and carrots. Managed to muck it up a bit as the oven went out (you need a hot oven for this one). I think a first for David, so perhaps not the best introduction to what normally would be very nice.
We needed a few provisions at the supermarket for the journey home. I needed to revisit the jewellers having had instructions from home... and we wanted to visit the lighthouse and gardens at La Seigneurie.
We launched the rib, David rowed and lifted her well up the beach; tides having been worked our properly. A second climb of the cliff path was still hard going, but perhaps a bit easier than the day before. There are strategically placed benches on the way up, so it is good to sit on the pretence of watching the boat on the bay.
Our timing was good. The Mermaid was open, so we had to drop by having had such a good welcome the day before. Same lady, equally friendly. So something has clearly changed, and for the better. There was a bit of buzz about the place. This weekend was the Sark Folk Festival. They were expecting a thousand visitors each day over the three days (Friday to Sunday) and a bit of a boost to the local business (which are clearly flagging). It would have been nice to have seen some of this, but we had a deadline. Perhaps another year.
Having made a small transaction at the jewellers we walked to La Seigneurie. £4 entry fee was reasonable. The walled garden was fantastic, the ponds less so. David was of course in his element and quizzed the gardener about irrigation and leaky hose pipes. I sat and admired the view.
Time was getting on. How it got to 4:30 I have no idea and we had some shopping to do and a lighthouse to visit.
The shopping was done, but I ducked out of the lighthouse visit. We decided to leave that for another time.
The rib was where we had left it, and back to the boat for the last time before our journey home. So we put the rib on the deck, prepared the boat for the following days sail and had dinner. We had confit de canard, new potatoes and carrots. Managed to muck it up a bit as the oven went out (you need a hot oven for this one). I think a first for David, so perhaps not the best introduction to what normally would be very nice.
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Sark to ...Sark
Rudely awakened by the anchor alarm at about 0430. This device records our original position and sounds when we are a pre-determined distance from it. In this case 150 ft.
It had not been a particularly good night to be at anchor. Although little wind there was quite a bit of swell. Perhaps had we got into our preferred location we would have fared better.
I got dressed with the expectation of moving the boat should we need to. We were about 4 or 5 boat lengths away from the rocks against which the sea was breaking with disarming force. The anchor was holding OK, but with the swell things could easily change. David was half up, so I called him up on deck so we could move the boat.
The anchor came up cleanly, and we motored away. To where? With a change in the wind direction, the anchorage on the other side of Sark (la Greve de la Ville) would probably be better. We had the tide with us to take us around the top of Sark so it was an easy and fast passage. We were not the only ones departing, no doubt for the same reasons. We could see the masts of yachts in our preferred location swinging violently back and forth. They were also not in a great spot, but were at least attached to a morring buoy.
The anchorage on the north east side of the island was surprisingly deserted. Just two yachts there. We had our choice of mooring buoys (there are 7 in total here) and David picked up the mooring line with ease. There was no swell; an altogether better spot given the conditions and it was a lovely day, I cooked a big breakfast, and we sat on the deck enjoying the view, drinking lots of coffee and contemplating a trip ashore.
After a very pleasant snooze on deck we prepared to take the trip to Sark. No need for the engine, David was rowing. We recalled a situation on the same spot a few years ago when we had not put the dinghy high enough up the beach and found it floating in the bay when we returned several hours later. This time there would be no mistakes and we put the dinghy well out of reach of any rising tide.
The walk up the cliff path was as unpleasant as ever. Today it was very hot, and the effects of the shower on board wore off in a matter of moments. We reached the top with a couple of stops (to admire the view of course). We headed directly for the Mermaid Inn to see what kind of welcome we would get this year.
We were very pleasantly surprised. Behind the bar was an Irish lady who probably not seen anyone all day (it was deserted) and wanted to chat. We got the full works; with a big helping of vitriol for the Barclay brothers.
We needed some supplies so found the supermarket. It was surprisingly well stocked. David had the idea of a picnic in a shady spot; we could find none, so found AJ's instead. Sat in the garden in the sweltering heat and had crab sandwiches, chowder and white wine. Very civilised.
Back to the boat. No problems with the rib - other than launching into to small waves. A relaxing afternoon on the boat, reading and listening to music. Someone had left their dinghy in the wrong place on the beach, and it was now floating in the bay. They came back, but rather than diving in and swimming to collect it (as David had done a few years ago) they borrowed someone else's rib to go and collect it. No fuss. Why had we not thought of that?
Dinner was paella. Excellent. Listened to some Mozart (lots of screeching of violins as far as I can see) and Sandy Denny (altogether better).
Will provide some pictures when I have some bandwidth...
It had not been a particularly good night to be at anchor. Although little wind there was quite a bit of swell. Perhaps had we got into our preferred location we would have fared better.
I got dressed with the expectation of moving the boat should we need to. We were about 4 or 5 boat lengths away from the rocks against which the sea was breaking with disarming force. The anchor was holding OK, but with the swell things could easily change. David was half up, so I called him up on deck so we could move the boat.
The anchor came up cleanly, and we motored away. To where? With a change in the wind direction, the anchorage on the other side of Sark (la Greve de la Ville) would probably be better. We had the tide with us to take us around the top of Sark so it was an easy and fast passage. We were not the only ones departing, no doubt for the same reasons. We could see the masts of yachts in our preferred location swinging violently back and forth. They were also not in a great spot, but were at least attached to a morring buoy.
The anchorage on the north east side of the island was surprisingly deserted. Just two yachts there. We had our choice of mooring buoys (there are 7 in total here) and David picked up the mooring line with ease. There was no swell; an altogether better spot given the conditions and it was a lovely day, I cooked a big breakfast, and we sat on the deck enjoying the view, drinking lots of coffee and contemplating a trip ashore.
After a very pleasant snooze on deck we prepared to take the trip to Sark. No need for the engine, David was rowing. We recalled a situation on the same spot a few years ago when we had not put the dinghy high enough up the beach and found it floating in the bay when we returned several hours later. This time there would be no mistakes and we put the dinghy well out of reach of any rising tide.
The walk up the cliff path was as unpleasant as ever. Today it was very hot, and the effects of the shower on board wore off in a matter of moments. We reached the top with a couple of stops (to admire the view of course). We headed directly for the Mermaid Inn to see what kind of welcome we would get this year.
We were very pleasantly surprised. Behind the bar was an Irish lady who probably not seen anyone all day (it was deserted) and wanted to chat. We got the full works; with a big helping of vitriol for the Barclay brothers.
We needed some supplies so found the supermarket. It was surprisingly well stocked. David had the idea of a picnic in a shady spot; we could find none, so found AJ's instead. Sat in the garden in the sweltering heat and had crab sandwiches, chowder and white wine. Very civilised.
Back to the boat. No problems with the rib - other than launching into to small waves. A relaxing afternoon on the boat, reading and listening to music. Someone had left their dinghy in the wrong place on the beach, and it was now floating in the bay. They came back, but rather than diving in and swimming to collect it (as David had done a few years ago) they borrowed someone else's rib to go and collect it. No fuss. Why had we not thought of that?
Dinner was paella. Excellent. Listened to some Mozart (lots of screeching of violins as far as I can see) and Sandy Denny (altogether better).
Will provide some pictures when I have some bandwidth...
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