Discovering a world of boats and beauty
Last Updated on October 25, 2024
Discovering a world of boats and beauty
Last Updated on October 25, 2024
What did we learn
What did we learn
Once the boat is safe, happiness is mostly a function of the friends who join you on board. The boat does not have to be expensive. It takes some persistence to get people to come but the quality of the boat does not seem to matter. One does have to ask at least three times before anyone believes you are really asking them to join. When people showed up, it was always fun, both for us and for our guests. It is not obvious that people always get along inside a small space while facing the elements and somehow they always did. We had 23 people visiting us, old, young, experienced and novices. We even had one complete landlubber who did not know how to swim and she was a delight. There is something about sailing that makes it easy to accept each other.
We learned a lot about boat systems, engines, generators, navigation, HVAC, pumps, showers, toilets, cooking gas, EPIRB batteries, teak decks, sail and dinghy repair, navigation, weather routing, radio and AIS. For the do-it-yourself type I am, this was a real treat. I am now a much better captain.
We settled the largest disagreement in our marriage; Ruth was right; the best size for a monohull sailboat is 50 foot. It was a good thing we did not buy that 60 foot Swan last spring.
A well equipped fifty foot monohull is easy to handle by two people. Camino, with in mast furling of the main, six powerful electric winches and two furling headsails was particularly easy to operate. With just 2 meters draught, Camino was small enough to get into most ports and anchorages, while large enough to accommodate up to seven people so it was easy to invite friends and family.
Best Day of my Life ?
Best day of my life?
It came sort of unexpected. We had left our car in Fréjus and after sailing to Lavandou we wanted to retrieve it. Public transit was four hours of busses and trains, Uber was 160 Euros and Martin suggested that he could rent a bicycle and get the car. We ended up renting a super fast carbon fiber frame bike for Martin and a powerful electric bike for me.
Together we rode the sixty kilometers in just over three hours. It was unbelievably gorgeous. Most of it was on bike trails along the coast of the Côte d’Azur. It was fun to spent the day with my son. The exercise was exhilarating and the vistas were breath taking. Once we were at the car there was a real sense of accomplishment. I don’t know if it was the best day of my life. There have been a lot of good days, this was certainly was among them
Summer is too short.
Summer is too short.
Summer was too short, we would loved to have more time for sailing, host more friends and anchor in more beautiful bays. Too much is rarely enough. If we were prone to be contented, we would not have ventured out in the first place.
What a wonderful time we had, we were lucky with all the friends that came. We saw beautiful bays, sailed calm seas and, mostly, avoided bad weather. We were happiest at anchor in a sheltered bay, in front of a beach, with friends on board.
Ruth and I are glad we did not buy a boat this time. It is nice to be able to step away from all the duties that come with being the captain. I love the ocean and being responsible for the safety of the ship and its crew was surprisingly consuming at times.
We had a taste of ownership as we fixed Camino and took responsibility for her for more than six months, for this brief period, that was a fun experience. I love fixing and improving things; there is real satisfaction in making something better. Culture, food and spectacular vistas give instantaneous happiness; creating, fixing and doing provides a slower longer lasting sense of well being. Maybe at some point there will still be another boat in our future. First I will try to make some more money…
We are back in our home port in Corbiéres. A 35 knot wind is howling through the rigging. We were taken by surprise when the weather turned on us in September. Gone were the lazy days of summer, the kind weather and calm oceans; all of a sudden, there were forty knot winds and five meter waved between Corsica and the Cote d’Azûre. In the next weeks, we carefully picked our weather windows as we slowly inched our way back to Marseilles. We were lucky with a successive influx of very competent sailors to help us with this transit and we spent a lot of time in various ports waiting for waves and wind to clam down. Jamie, Martin, Willem and Simon all significantly boosted the capabilities of the crew. In the process I added route planning and weather routing to my skills as a captain.
We got home safely and thanks to the excellent weather tools, we only experienced pleasant sea states. We avoided all challenging conditions by staying in port. It was fun to discover La Caletta, Fréjus and Le Lavandou, all places where we stayed more than a week. On the days weather allowed, we did anchored in gorgeous spots, Golfo degli Aranco in Sardinia, Golfe de Pinarellu in Corsica, Porquerolles and La re de Sormiou.
Crossing to the Côte D’Azure
Macinaggio to Fréjus
We arrived in Macinaggio, the northern-most port in Corsica. Situated on the east, it was well protected from the waves and the winds that battered the west coast. It was also a good jumping off point for the crossing to French mainland. The crossing was overnight and for our boat it would be somewhere between 18 to 22 hours. Of all the overnight sails, we have done, this was by far the best planned, it was also the first trip that had to navigate several storm systems.
We had invested in Predict Wind, a weather app that came with routing and planning software. Predict Wind took the forecasts and then allowed us to compare different departure times. For the optimum time, it then calculated routes, one for each of the forecasting models. As an extra bonus, it was possible to export the chosen route directly into Navionics (navigational app). Armed with these wonderful tools, we selected an 11:30 am departure and we picked the route from the European weather forecast (ECMWF) which is recognized as one of the best models in existence.
That afternoon was the most idyllic sailing we had all summer. Jaimie had rigged the genoa to the spinnaker pole and we made 7 knots on the run with following seas. Camino had a very pleasant sea-gang and we all enjoyed a spectacular sunset while sailing due west. Before 10 pm, Ruth and I retired to our cabin. Jamie and Adeline took the first shift.
Between 11 pm and 4 am we encountered a lot of traffic On Corsica we had installed a radar reflector and thanks to the repairs in Palma we had two working AIS systems. The latter were a godsend, it gave the direction and speed of the other boats within radio range and it calculated the closest point of approach assuming everyone would keep their course. In principle I prefer passing astern all large vessels. They tend to move at 20 knots and at 1,000 feet length, they are the size of a skyscraper. Even if you are a mile in front of their bow they can close that distance in just 3 minutes, that is not a lot of time if something goes wrong. Throughout the night we made sure that we were always at least 2 miles away whenever we crossed the bow of these mammoth vessels. The AIS made it possible to immediately see if the closest point of approach (CPA) met our two mile criteria once we adjusted our course and speed.
At five am, we were in front of Fréjus where the new shift of the harbor crew had just started. We received an enthusiastic welcome from the French woman who helped us moor Camino. Shortly after we were safely tied up, the sun came up, it had been a very successful crossing.
Sardinia
Sardinia
We came down the west coast of Corsica in calm weather, anchoring is beautiful bays, enjoying the beaches and crystal-clear water. On the way to Sardinia, we once again saw a couple of dolphins. The ocean was flat calm which made it easy to see these magnificent animals swimming underwater as they played in front of our bow.
Past the white cliffs of Bonifacio, we headed for Santa Teresa di Gallura in Northen Sardinia where we had a crew change. My sister Mirjam and her husband Peter joined us, together we sailed to La Maddalena where we spent two nights at anchor. The first was especially spectacular as we were anchored in the middle of a small bay with rocks at three sides.
There was a storm forecasted so we decided to head into port. La Caletta offered us a very attractive rate and we were pleased to discover that we had a berth alongside the stone quay right behind the seawall. This seawall is spectacularly decorated with beautiful ceramic art showing all manner of birds and sea life.
As I am writing this, the wind is howling through the rigging. We are safe, but there is no doubt that this weather is intimidating, nor is there any sign that it is about to stop. This Monday, we had force 10 in the strait of Bonifacio, coming Friday it is again predicted to be a gale/storm, waves at the west side of Sardinia are expected to exceed 4 meters in height.
Corsica
Corsica
Of all the Mediterranean islands, Corsica is the most beautiful. The rugged mountains, the charming villages and the many stunning sandy beaches make for an irresistible combination. We enjoyed the leisurely walks around the Calvi citadel as we provisioned the boat for the next leg in our trip. Our next destination was the Gulf of Porto to see the legendary red granite rocks, after that we took a buoy in the bay of D’Arone in front of a gorgeous beach. We were quite a way out, but Masha and Bryan nonetheless swam the 650 meters to the beach and back. Ruth and I took our RHIB and relied on the Yamaha 6 HP engine to bring us to land.
Music of Andrea Bocelli is playing on the boat speakers, soon we will open the bottle of crémant that is currently chilling in the fridge, we are lucky to have friends on board to share it with. The crystal-clear warm water, the sandy beach, this is as good as it gets.
Pisa
Pisa
We decided to stay in port because the storm systems in the Mediterranean were still strong. Down in Sicily a captain made a different decision and kept his boat at anchor outside the port. That night, disaster struck both in Pisa where an 11-meter sailing vessel ran aground at 2 am. Three hours later the much larger vessel in Sicily sunk beneath the waves. The next day we watched from the shore as the ocean was pounding the small yacht to pieces. The hull of the 11-meter sailing yacht broke in two right as we watched. A dramatic scene as the inside teak panels of the yachts came free and floated towards the beach. In Pisa the crew made it safely to shore and the loss was limited to the yacht. The occupants of the Sicily yacht were not so lucky.
The next day the storm had passed, and we set sail, first to Cala de Medici and then to Elba where we spent two nights at anchor. On August 22 we rose at the crack of dawn and headed to Corsica. It was a 70 nautical mile journey which we completed partly on sail and on the engine when the wind dropped. Corsica is a wild and beautiful island; at the center it has the mighty Monte Cinto with its 2706-meter-high peak. When I was 18 I hiked across the island on the GR20 one of France’s most challenging Grand Randonees. We anchored in several bays, the beach of Saleccia was particularly beautiful, stunningly beautiful water over fine sand with a lush pine forest right behind the dunes. We all swam a lot and enjoyed the spectacular surroundings. On August 26 & 27 we were in the picturesque port of Calvi for a crew change.
Tempest in Tuscany
Tempest in Tuscany
At night, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the people of Porto Venere had outlined their houses and the church with lights, creating a beautiful display, further adding to the magic of being at anchor in a beautiful bay.
The next morning, we raised our anchor at a quarter before ten and were on our way to Pisa, a short four-hour trip. It was flat calm, and the weather forecast was more of the same. At 11:30 am Ruth pointed out that the wind was up to 16 knots, which surprised us. The forecast was no more than 10 knots of wind against us. The wind kept increasing. By noon it was blowing hard, waves were getting stronger and we logged 38 knots of apparent wind while we were going 8 knots down wind. This was a force 9 gale blowing and we were right in the middle, still two hours away from port.
The waves started to toss the boat around and I was expecting the autopilot to give up. We had both donned our life jackets and we were ready to take over the helm. It was the lightning that was the most disconcerting. Lightning can do funny things to a boat; we had heard stories of thunderbolts blowing holes in the hull and destroying all the electronics on board. Luckily, we had the wind coming from behind, it added a few knots to our boat speed and Camino was riding the waves with grace. The harbor entrance at Pisa was tricky as we had to turn 90 degrees and with the waves on the beam we almost smashed into the concrete piers. Once in the harbor, everything was calm. Another adventure!
Crossing into Italy
Crossing into Italy
We spent two days in Monaco, what a fun place, busy with activity, fancy cars and well- dressed people. After Vatican City, Monaco is the smallest country in the world despite its long 400 plus year history. With two grand harbors filled with fancy yachts and its world-famous casino, it is the ultimate playground for the rich.
After Monaco, we attempted to leave for Italy but returned to France to investigate an issue with the autopilot. The next day, we did motor north, the Italian coast was enticing. We anchored south of Andora. We rose before dawn to cross the Ligurian Sea, it was settled weather, and we had a pleasant cruise on a flat calm blue ocean.
Cote D'Azure
Cote D’Azure.
After attending a spectacularly beautiful wedding in Alsace we were back at our home port on August 1. The mistral was blowing so we had a few days in port to fix and repair stuff. The big difference between chartering and being responsible for a boat is the never-ending maintenance. Summer was in full swing with temperatures reaching some 40 degrees C. Whereas we started this journey by buying duvets and worrying about heating, now getting more air into the boat while keeping the mosquitoes out was a priority. I made a mosquito net to cover the entrance of our boat. We also had a go at repairing the AC unit. Djamal, our neighboring captain in Corbieres spent several hours diagnosing the problem. He verified that there was gas in the system but for some reason the compressor was not starting up. First we speculated that it was broken, then we verifies the voltage and saw there was none. “Death or Injury” was the warning on the control box which Djamal nonetheless opened. There was a 10 amp micro fuse on the circuit board that had blown. Once that was replaced the AC worked like a charm and produced a welcome mini hurricane of cold air. It worked so well that every five hours it produced a full bucket of condensation.
Several times I offered to pay Djamal, after all he had spent some six hours dealing with my AC, but he refused. Neighbors take care of each other was his stance, it is truly amazing how welcoming and friendly everyone of Pontoon six has been. There is something about boats that brings men together. One can live in a city for years and never even know one’s neighbors. And here in the south of France, in a matter of a few weeks we forged new relations that are both honest and warm.
This trip has been a unique opportunity to renew, create and deepen friendships. Jacques arrived in Corbieres with his second boat, and we drove him to Roses so I could retrieve his car, it was good to spend some time with him. We took the opportunity to visit the house of Dali. Once back at Corbieres, we sailed to Bandol and learned all about repairing leaks in the RHIB and the difference between PVC and Hypalon. All while talking to Jean-Marc and Sophie whose house we could see from our anchorage. Two days later we docked at Frejus and met up with Reidar and Anne-Kristin. Reidar is one of the most successful people in clean-tech and it was fun to work with him for the last one and a half decades.
In between ports we spent nights at anchor and the bliss of a calm bay is hard to capture in words. The majestic sunsets, the twinkling lights from the shore and the restful sleep after an invigorating swim is impossible to beat. Taking a freshwater shower on the platform at the stern of the boat after a saltwater swim must be one of life’s best experiences.