May 17th 2013

Through the English Channel

I now know a place where I will never ever want to go back again, and that is the English Channel! Oh my God, there were currents running every-which-way, ferries rushing back and forth, and a zillion ships all over the place. It was a miracle that we managed to squeeze us in!

Although after Dover Strait the conditions improved considerably, it was a rugged ride altogether and we arrived in Brunsbüttel, Germany, dead tired as neither of us had hardly slept a wink while sailing through the traffic-infested waters. We were also a little upset as our forestay broke in the Channel. To be quite honest, we could very well have done without this additional delay in our already tight schedule!

But, as you know a good night's sleep can make a world of difference, and this morning when we woke up and realized that we were soon about to enter the Baltic Sea for the first time in eleven years, we felt absolutely marvellous!

We'll try to fix the forestay problem as quickly as possible and continue, hopefully already tomorrow, our passage through the Kiel Canal towards Finland.

May 11th 2013

A Farewell Feast in Cherbourg

When wandering round Cherbourg's old town, we came across a lovely little market place with stalls selling fruit, vegetables, bread, meat, sausages, cheeses, fish, shellfish etc, etc. You could also buy food to take away, and as we wanted to taste a little bit of this and a little bit of that, we ended up having a proper feast aboard on our last evening in Port Chantereyne.

May 10th 2013

A Break in Cherbourg

On the 8^th of May, while happily continuing our voyage, we heard Guernsey Coast Guard give a weather forecast on VHF: “Force 6 from SW for the Channel Islands”. That didn't sound too bad, in fact, we thought it would give us a good boost towards the Kiel Canal. But when, a few hours later, they had changed the forecast to Force 8, with gusts exceeding 45 knots, we thought it better to head for Cherbourg which was only about 30 miles away from our current position. 

We arrived in Port Chantereyne just before dawn. The wind picked up early in the morning and continued to blow for the following two days. While waiting for the weather to improve, we passed the time sightseeing in Cherbourg's old town which, as in Vigo, is located right next to the marina.

This year, Cherbourg celebrates the 50^th anniversary of 'Les Parapluies de Cherbourg', one of my all time favourites. But, unfortunately, we had no time for celebrations as the wind began to abate, and we could continue our interrupted passage to the north. 

May 9th 2013

Across the Bay of Biscay

Our first ever crossing of the notorious Bay of Biscay took three days. The conditions varied from sunny and calm for the first one and a half days to cloudy, foggy, and partly rainy for the rest of the crossing. The wind was15 to 25 knots from SE. So, nothing to complain about, except that after leaving Vigo, we noticed that a split pin had become loose in the spreader head, and Pekka had to climb up the mast to fix it!

Although we were sailing nonstop to make up for the lost time, we had an amazing number of visitors on board: a Galician house fly, three fruit flies, a tern, and a wet and worn out barn swallow which stopped by on our third day at sea. Our speed of five to six knots at the time was clearly too slow for the bird and, after resting for a while, it continued its migration north on its own.

Just as we were about to round the isle of Ushant and enter the English Channel, a French customs patrol vessel hailed us. We could continue our passage but they would send five  customs officials over to inspect our boat. The breaking waves were about two metres and our speed about seven knots when their RIB came alongside the Sarema. As we watched the officials climb on board, Pekka's comment was “If you want to work for Customs and Immigration at sea, you cannot be fat, clumsy or uncoordinated.” I couldn't have agreed with him more!

Since they were mainly looking for drugs but had no dog with them, we offered Latte for the job. For some reason, they kindly turned down our offer.

During our first day in the English Channel, a bird flew right into our saloon and made itself at home there. This ragged hirundo rustica savignii had come all the way from Egypt and was badly in need of a rest. We gave it fresh water but that was all we could provide for this tiny insect-eater. The bird stayed aboard for several hours, occasionally flying around but mostly napping either on my camera bag or on me. We were a little worried about the well-being of our exotic visitor but near the island of Guernsey, it spread its wings and flew away. We like to think that it made it!

May 4th 2013

Leaving Vigo

We have now spent a whole week in Vigo, waiting for the wind to abate.

This morning, we were ready and more than anxious to continue our delayed voyage but as luck would have it, the Real Club Nautico had run out of fuel!!! So, we'll stay here yet another day but the positive thing about this is that the wind should be even more favourable for us as of tomorrow.

During the past week, we have explored every nook and granny in Vigo's lovely old town, visited numerous (maybe too many!?) interesting bars, taverns, restaurants, and pubs all keeping up the old tapas tradition: with every glass of wine, you are served something salty and delicious included in the price of the wine, typically tortilla, small pies, local cheeses, sausages etc. 

In Vigo's old town centre, Casco Vello, some of the street names date back to the times of guilds and tradesmen. One day, while sauntering along Rua Cesteiros, Basket Weavers' Street, we stopped at a wickerwork shop to buy a basket which we have found to be the best way to store fresh fruit and vegetables on board.

Today, as our last venture in the city of Vigo, we took part in a noisy demonstration against Spanish banks of which, as ex-Spanish residents, we have very little if anything positive to say.

Thanks to our rotten luck with fuel, we could once more enjoy a delicious Galician lunch, our last for a long, long time: pulpo, berberechos, navajas, and pimientos de padron.

Tomorrow, around 10 a.m. we'll cast off the lines, (hopefully!) fill our tanks, and head for the Bay of Biscay.

April 29th 2013

Northbound at last!

Lagos
37° 06,61' N, 08° 40,51' W

S/Y Sarema left the marina of Lagos, Portugal, on Sunday the 21^s of April more than a week behind schedule due to Webasto sparepart problems.

The sun was shining from blue skies but as often as not, the wind was against us. We had 25 to 35 knots headwind most of the time, and while banging against the waves, we managed to lose our good, old boat hook and a winch handle holder, and during our fourth day at sea, our mainsail halyard broke which was a bit more serious.

But, although we had been ashore for more than half a year, clearly we had not turned into landlubbers as the experience was like “Been there, done that!” if you know what I mean. Since, according to the weather forecast, the conditions were about to deteriorate, we decided to head for Vigo, Spain.

We are now in the safe haven provided by the Royal Nautical Club of Vigo.

We have been passing the time here roaming the narrow streets and alleys of the old town, located right next to the marina, tasting local wines, and enjoying Galician gastronomy “which is dominated by ocean-fresh seafood offering a stunning range of fish and shellfish which, due to the temperature and type of plankton in Galicia's estuaries, have an unrivalled taste”, as praised in the Guide of Vigo, and rightly so!

Although enjoying our stay in Vigo, we will continue our voyage as soon as there is a weather window that will allow us to cross the Bay of Biscay safely. But, according to the latest weather forecast, the outlook for the next couple of days is not at all promising.

July 28th 2012

Home Sweet Home!

The winds died sooner than we had expected, already in the wee hours of the 26th. We were drifting once again but with the difference that, this time, we had our tanks full (ha ha!!). Luckily, this lasted only for a few hours after which our speed increased from zero to close to three knots. After passing Cabo Sao Vicente, with the help of the afternoon breeze we managed to reach Lagos, and dropped anchor in the bay the same afternoon. Two days later, we were towed into the marina.

We were almost as lucky when crossing the Atlantic!

Surprisingly, despite all our troubles we are not yet tired of sailing, on the contrary. For next summer, we have great plans but first, we have to get our good boat Sarema back on her feet.

So, till next spring, we wish you all FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS!