Gem - 2010 Cruise - South Brittany

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

Hi All,

I'm posting this on behalf of Dave Howell of Gem. I've 'translated' it from another format, so apologies if it doesn't look quite right. Apologies for the delay in posting, Dave, I've been under the weather recently.

Martin (Admin)

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

GEM SUMMER CRUISE 2010 - S. Brittany
Cardiff to L'Aberwracht
With Gem fully provisioned, Mary & I were on board for the 8 am lockout from Cardiff Bay. The forecast was a favourable 3 or 4, variable, east for a time. Geneiveve with Graham & Helen were buddy boating with us.

We sailed until 5 miles short of Ilfracombe & then motor sailed to Lundy with a passage time of 10 hours. At Lundy, we moored on a very large buoy and Gem was free to swing to the oscillating wind.

Morning came with mist & Geneiveve departed whilst I made the sails ready. We left (08.30 hrs) a little before high water (bad tactic!) and for the first hour or so we tacked into some confused seas. Eventually, with Lundy some miles astern & the tide on the
turn, the sailing got much better though there was little sun to warm our bodies.

Geneiveve was out of sight motor sailing on the rhumb line for Padstow. We sailed on a rather inshore course as that was as high as we could make. We arrived off Stepper Point with the tide too low to enter the Camel estuary, so we crept in close to the shore & rounded up westward where there is just sufficient water to anchor and with protection from the swell. As the tide increased, the swell protection decreased, but by that time it was OK to enter the estuary.

Padstow harbour was good as usual & with the best shower facility around the coast. We had a layover day & also met up with Howard & Michelle on White Rose".

We left Padstow with a forecast of SE5 and had a great sail down the coast with the wind blowing off the land. We sailed under reefed jib & main so as to keep Geneiveve within sight. Just after Stepper Point we had the uplifting company of dolphins! This was cruising at its best - good wind & flat seas.
Thinking that the passage beyond Lands End would be rough, we decided to overnight at Hayle, anchoring, in 2M at low water, off the beach. The wind whistled through and we were well attached to the sand with the Fortress anchor. In the small
hours, the boats bumped & Graham relocated Geneiveve to enable further sleep!

An early start forced on us by the tide, enabled us to have a fabulous sail to Lands End. The wind was SE 20-28 kts & we hugged the shore to stay in flat water. Gem had to be reined in to keep station with Geneiveve & I was able to take some great photos of Geneiveve sailing reefed & making 7 kts.
Gem maxed out at 15.1 kts & doing some extra miles to stay with Geneiveve.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

At Lands End we took the inside passage, the wind came ahead & soon died. We motored from The Kettle. As we approached the
Runnelstone, the sea flattened and we motored sedately to Tater-du light, from where we had a bit of fun sailing at about 2+ knots to Newlyn. It was still early in the day, so it was time to enjoy the sunshine.

In Newlyn we met some old friends with trimaran Starship, who told us of their engine failure. Graham had a look and soon found the fault and fixed it when the necessary spare part that arrived the following day.

Most unfortunately, Graham got an infection with a rash on his leg and a virus of some sort. The local doctor struggled with getting him well and they stayed in Newlyn for 14? days before he was well enough to depart.

As there was little we could do to assist, we reluctantly decided to set out for Brittany solo. The plan was to have a daybreak departure & try to get to L'Aberwracht before nightfall. For the first half of the 98 mile crossing, the wind was very light and we
were only making a few knots. We motor sailed for a while. Eventually, at 15.00 hrs the wind came in and gradually increased throughout the remainder of the day.

As the sun was setting we witnessed the most amazing sight a rainbow appeared and all the colours of the sun were reflected in it! We arrived off L'Aberwracht as darkness came, sailing at up to 13.1 kts with 20 kts of apparent wind at 40 - 50 deg off the port bow. This was 180 deg from the previous days weather forecast!
Though the channel into L'Aberwracht is narrow & surrounded by rocks, it is deep enough & well marked (as seems to be most places in French waters). Coupled this with that we had been there before and have a Standard Horizon plotter with CMap,
entry was easy. Concentration & continuous monitoring of position are the key.

At the fairway entrance, I got the sails down & Mary was on watch as she has very good night vision, though on this occasion mine was not too bad as I remembered (unlike a previous crossing) to remove my clip-on sunglasses!

Up the estuary & opposite the marina at 22.30 hrs (19 hr crossing) the wind was blowing hard & we decided to pick up a buoy for the night. With the kettle on we switched on our mobile phones to receive a plethora of messages that my mother was in hospital in a grave condition. There was little that we could do and the following morning we had the sad news that she had passed away.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

We then had a bad night on the outside of the marina pontoon with decent waves slapping & drumming on the stern all night. As we planned to leave Gem whilst we went home for a week or so, we went up the river to Port du Paluden. A lovely, peaceful place, great harbourmaster & secure moorings fore & aft at 10Euros per night. The best place in the estuary, though shops etc. are a fair walk.

We stayed here for a few days to gather our thoughts.
Back in Brittany We returned from Wales via the Plymouth - Roscoff ferry. The subsequent journey by public bus to cover the 40 mile direct route to Paluden took 5 hours! On arrival there
we found Herve, the super harbourmaster, waiting to give us a hand with the dinghy (which he had kindly stored safely in the boatshed).

The following morning we sailed down the river planning a short sail to L'Aberbenoit. We had plenty of time & the wind was light. So we sailed outside of the majority of the rocks, following the main marker buoys. The entrance is fine provided that you
follow the chart with care, but like many harbours here you have to make a number of turns. The river is densely populated with boats and care is needed with the incoming tide ready to push the unwary into trouble. Luckily we found a substantial mooring
buoy off the town quay at Stellac'h. With the amount of weed on it indicating little use, we thought that we would not get moved off!

The day proved to be one of the hottest of the cruise. Once the tide turned & we were satisfied that Gem was ok, we dinghied ashore and walked up the hill slowly looking for the village shops. After a while I decided to ask a man, who was sat at a garden table sorting out tomatoes, where the shops were. He gesticulated that someone who spoke English would come out from his house. Madame, who spoke perfect English, came out and answered our questions.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

She then told us that she was going to drive us
to a bar where we could get a good lunch & show us where the shops could be found afterwards. Enroute, she deviated in order to show us the best return route from the shops. She was absolutely charming & extremely kind.

The bar turned out to be busy, full of local people, some workers & most seemed to be eating lunch. We found that there was a "menu of the day" which suited us ok. The barmaid gesticulated that we should go through to the rear bar & help ourselves to a cold buffet. We each had a plateful which was very enjoyable & filling.

Then, we had a surprise when we were asked what we wanted for the main course! After the third course and suitably washed down with vin rouge, we simply had to move to assist digestion! So we walked slowly to the shops, stopping half way there for a lie down on the municipal grass for a mini siesta.

We found a nice boulangerie and a mini supermarket & got all that we needed & could carry! Luckily, we were now walking downhill & trying to avoid stepping on melting tar (not compatible with a boat's deck). At the slipway we found our dinghy to be 20 metres out & the tide was now 3/4 up. I had tied it with a long enough line but it drifted on it's scope away from the shore! A Frenchman kindly took me to it in his dinghy. I transferred into mine & although the painter was plenty long enough, I was unable to reach down far enough into the water to untie it from the slipway ringbolt. So I rowed to the slipway, released the painter & made it's free end to the slip to be picked up later when the tide had receded. Mary & I made our way back to
Gem to unload & find everything to be ok.


The next morning we departed L'Aberbenoit, heading south down the Chanel du Four. There was little wind so we decided not to go far & headed into Le Conquet, a distance of only 23 miles. Here the outer harbour is open to the west, though the rocks & islands of the Chanel du Four minimise the fetch. The inner harbour dries and would need inspection at low water before committing to drying out.

Having touched the daggerboard on the bottom and finding little mooring option, we tied up alongside an unoccupied boat on one of the outermost harbour buoys. This turned out to be ok as the weather was calm. Lots of chop from passing traffic, but nothing to affect the stability of a trimaran.

Seeing the manoeuvrability of the large ferryboats in very tight quarters, highlighted the skill of the helmsman. The small town was a short walk up the hill. We found to be very attractive & had a really nice meal in a restaurant there. The following morning we departed Le Conquet, reaching in F2-3. Soon the fog came down & visibility was less than 200 metres. I said to Mary "it's ok as we can listen (being under sail), keeping a good lookout and keeping out of the main channel".

Immediately a large inter-island ferryboat shot out of the murk ahead of us doing over 15 kts. His course took him well clear of us, but it was a scary, thought provoking
moment. He disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

We then steered to port and got even further from the main channel. Sailing was slow but we had a very strong tide beneath us, the Chanel du Four being one of the great tidal gates in this part of the World.

As we emerged from the Chanel & set further eastward, the fog lifted and we had a most enjoyable sail to Camaret. I was pleased with our progress, especially as I wanted to get to a TV to see World Cup football! After passing the "Swansea Vale" buoy, we made for Camaret & found a space on the innermost pontoon. We were soon in the nearest bar!

Mary got the drinks as I was locked onto the TV. At half time we chatted with a couple from Portsmouth, UK. Tim & Nancy were cruising on 42 foot "Larus". We got along famously, unlike the England footie team who were a disgrace and lost to a very
good German team by 4-1.

Gem's diesel engine was requiring topping up of cooling water with increasing frequency. We had looked on numerous occasions to find it, though the water was evident in the bilge. Eventually we found that the plastic exhaust strum box was worn
through at the corner which had been laying on the hull. The engine vibration and bad installation had caused this. We decided to make next for Brest where there are good facilities and a number of diesel repair shops were advertised in "The Bloc"


Aside note: "The Bloc Cotier" is a soft & complete book of charts covering the entire N coast and west coasts as far S as the Spanish border. With full details of harbours, plans, navigation & tides it's a must for anyone cruising these waters. It covers up to
6 miles from the coast. Fantastic value at something like 20Euros. I use "post-it" notes to mark the pages in use and this saves time & frustration.

ISBN2-916175-14-8 - I have no connection whatsoever with the publisher, except being a satisfied customer! Published in English & French.


Into the Rade de Brest
The sail to Brest was again in light airs, we beat up to the narrows (Le Gullet) the start of which is marked with the "Fillettes" buoy. From here the apparent wind dropped
and now sailing east & deep downwind it was hopeless. With the water leak problem we were reluctant to start the engine. The tide was now giving us more speed than the wind & when we arrived at the start of Brest city we started the engine. Mary kept a watch on the bilge water level in case we would have to shut down the engine.
We passed the newly opened marina right in the town as we were told that there were little yacht support facilities there. We pressed on for 2 miles to the marina "Moulin Blanc". Inside the marina, we motored up a dead end channel where we had spotted plenty of space. As we tied up, adjacent yachties advise us to move as it would almost dry out and has a rocky bottom!. The Marinaro arrived who repeated this warning.

Gem was folded but it was still tricky reversing the length of the pontoon. We tied up next to "Danae" a 36 foot Rustler from Weymouth, UK. Terry and Ruby were in full cruising mode and were also seeking a diesel mechanic.

The next morning the mechanic from Jet Services fixed Danae's problem & then Gem's. Luckily, they were a Vetus agent and had the part (lock LB40) in stock.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

Actually, it was not that simple to install, the overall shape being a little different & the tight working area caused plenty of sweat whilst wrestling with fitting the hoses which behaved more like anacondas! The part was expensive & the young mechanic excellent. For the remainder of the cruise we did not have to top up the water coolant at all.

Terry proudly showed me the home made headsail furler that he had made. He bought the actual drum/pulley & proprietary bearings. Made up the rest himself. A great job and which he says has improved his sailing.





A short walk north from Moulin Blanc marina, we found a lovely restaurant in literally a ship aground and well above high tide level. We secured a table upstairs where there were lovely views of the area. Most importantly, the food was fabulous.
After a couple of nights in Brest, we set sail for Châteaulin in where we hoped to meet up again with Tim & Nancy on Larus. Châteaulin in is about 14 miles up the River Alune, but first we had to traverse south and then west across the Rade de Brest.
Turning westward after Ile Ronde, we were on a dead run and with the light wind we were only making 2 - 3 knots under main & jib.

We then deployed the schreacher which gave more but not enough, so under autopilot we deployed the spinnaker + main & immediately our speed went up to 5 - 7 kts. This was fabulous sailing, flat sea, acceptable speed & sunshine. It was to be the only time we used the spinnaker in the whole cruise (note to self: I must not be so lazy in future!).

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

We sailed the 8 miles under this combination and let the autopilot do it's work whilst I navigated and altered course to suit both the hazards & occasional other boats. The few times that we had to come more onto a deep reach, the speed would shoot up. At the far end of this leg the river mouth turns into a starboard bend, with a bulbous head of about 400 degrees. As we entered I got the spinny down with it's squeezer behind
the mainsail. Then with frequent inputs of -10 into the Autohelm and hardening of sails we entered the Aulne at a good pace!
I was necessary to take care to avoid shallows whilst sticking (not literally!) on the inside of the bend - so as not to get pushed downwind on the second half of the bend.

I did get rather distracted by a large trimaran dried out on the south bank & in a state of neglect. As we progressed around this long bend, the wind became blanketed by the very high cliffs on the north side of the river at Landevennec. Just above the shore
here lies a 5th Century Monastery. There is a Museum at the old monastery whilst the Benedict monks occupy the newer monastery.

Right in the bight of the bend, there were a few old military vessels at anchor. Perhaps they were waiting to be broken up?
Onward up the Aulne the wind largely deserted us due to the high ground & riverbank trees. We motored under the large road bridge where a new bridge was being constructed close to the original bridge.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

Very interesting seeing this project from below, a new aspect for us. We passed over one long straight section where Gem's depth alarm, set at 2 metres beneath the hull, sounded continuously. This reminded us that we were a little early on the tide & raised the daggerboard. When we got overtaken by a monohull, we speeded up and followed its track.

We arrived at the lock and the eclusier was ready to take our lines. We locked through with 2 other boats (leaners!). Above the lock the river was very picturesque, passing under a viaduct??? and the village at Port Launay before finally arriving at Château in. Tim & Nancy were there to take our lines & we tied up to the small pontoon astern of Larus.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

Nancy had a super meal ready & we had a very nice evening aboard Larus.Vin rouge flushed down the meal. The next morning saw the departure downriver of Larus and we agreed to try to meet in Camaret as both boats would be heading for the UK.

We had a great time in Châteaulin. There was a fabulous outdoor market, alongside the river & above the next set of locks, with beautiful produce on sale. We had a great time in the bar watching World Cup football. Holland beat Germany, the Germans in the bar took it quite well, the Dutch were ecstatic! Great walks along to towpath, we went as far as the next locks.
A short distance from the pontoon is a large supermarket where all provisions plus fuel could be purchased. Additionally, there is also a cafe where breakfast could be had for a very low price.

On small downside(?). We had noticed a large number of very small frogs making there way from the river & ashore. In the mornings, I had to rid Gem of about 15! One had even got on top of the bimini! We presumed that this was just a seasonal event.
Picture shows one on 6mm rope - to demonstrate their size.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

We motored downriver and were the only boat going through the lock. & arrived at Camaret to meet up with Tim & Nancy who were already in the bar watching the footie!

We sailed from Camaret in company with Larus to L'Aberildut, passing through the majority of the Chanel du Four. We both picked up mooring buoys inside the river mouth. This turned out to be expensive - as much as a marina berth elsewhere & double (usually x 1.5) for a multihull. Scandalous!

Return to UK
Larus departed east a little before us, we felt rather sad, we had enjoyed their company. There was little wind and we persevered for a few hours. However we had not cleared the land and the tide was going wrong. Far too late, we started the motor to prevent being swept towards Isle d' Ouessant. Soon we found enough wind to sail and changed sails through the remainder of the day & night to suit the conditions. We were pleased to get north of the shipping lanes before darkness.

As the wind was roughly NW, we resulted in getting swept to the east of our preferred landfall, Newlyn. Since the wind had been light, we had sailed slightly free to keep Gem moving. The east going tide off The Lizard did not help and our landfall projection was somewhere between Falmouth & Fowey. Feeling tired we decided to motor sail into Falmouth, arriving at the town marina after 23 hours 45 mins.

Valhalla fellow members of NUSC were moored close by. We caught up on a variety of news before they took off. We agreed to meet in Padstow. We also had visits from Richard (another tri sailor) who lives in Mousehole & Rod Nichols who I used to see
regularly when he, like I, used to sail Telstar tris in the Bristol Channel.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

We port hopped to Newlyn in a flat sea having to motor-sail (ouch!). Our spirits were lifted when, in Mounts Bay, a pod of dolphins joined us. As usual we enjoyed our brief stay in Newlyn. If only there were a decent shower & toilet block it would be excellent.

We had a good sail from Newlyn to Padstow with the weather getting boisterous NW towards the end of the leg. Indeed, as we sailed inside Quies rock we were going far too fast under spi & full mainsail whilst under autopilot. In the gusts Gem peaked at 16 kts, a bit fast for cruising through the gap! I became concerned when I noticed that the foot of the spinnaker was occasionally bearing on the end of the bowsprit. I called Mary to come & assist for me to get the spi down, but before we could it became shredded big time!

With some difficulty and the boat going far too fast as we closed the shore, I eventually got the shredded spi bagged. We then sailed around Stepper Point. Once in the shelter of the Point, we rounded up and dropped the main. It seemed strange to be
motoring up the Camel estuary when we could have been going well under jib alone, but we were brassed off with having shredded the spi!

We found a space alongside the harbour wall & quite close to where the old guy sings & plays guitar.
We had 3 nights here with Jim & Eirlys together with Alan & Sharon on Ceol Mor - also from NUSC. We all walked to Stepper Point and circled back via that very nice country produce farm shop that lies beyond Prideaux Palace. We also had some very
nice meals ashore, the first of which was whilst watching the World Cup final.

On the way NE to Ilfracombe we had dolphins accompanying us on 3 occasions. We love their company! The weather was grey & not nice for July but the forecast was
such that if we hadn't gone then we would have had to stay for another 4 nights before the incoming depression were to clear. The big winds did subsequently appear & Valhalla remained snug in her berth. Ceol Mor had departed earlier as Alan had
pressing work commitments.

On the last leg from Ilfracombe to Cardiff, the weather was bad. Rain, mist & too much wind. As we approached gaps in the cliffs, there were huge wind downdraughts and our speed reached 15.4 kts. We rounded up in order to reef the mainsail and (yet again) had trouble with the single line reefing. We were unable to get a good shape with the second reef & the sail being very baggy. Then I noticed that the jib was split near it's luff. So we rolled the jib up and motored to Cardiff, purgatory in that wind, but by then we were looking forward to getting back to Cardiff.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

Having locked in & settled in out berth at CYC we got our gear together quickly as our lift was on the way to take us home. Whilst we waited for our lift outside of CYC gates, we saw a few club members walking towards the club in not too straight a line.
Inebriated, they told us that they had been to Bunny's wake. We were both shocked and very disappointed to hear of his passing.
A great, fun character - once met, never forgotten! True to his request, the wake was a fun event with Hawaiian shirts etc. (no
black allowed) The left over pizza that we were offered was great too - we were starving! Bon voyage Bunny.


Trip statistics

• Sailed 696 GPS miles (Gem log now totals 5492 miles).
• Nights on board - 31
• Only 1 night at anchor - off Hayle beach.
• Motoring - too much, I had to top up the fuel tank!
• Best place - Châteaulin or L'Aber Benoit
• Worst harbour - Le Conquet
• Best meal - So many!
• Best sail - Along the N. Cornish coast to Land's End.
• Worst sail - N.Devon to Cardiff - motoring due to sail
damage.
Moored at L'Aberwracht pontoon in strong quartering wind, fenders being squashed.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

Thanks for taking the time to do this, Dave. More and more people are commenting to me within the club how much they enjoy reading the exploits of CYC members on their travels. If anyone sles has tales such as this, and need help publishing their account, or even pictures or videos, on the forum, please drop me a line and I'll do what I can to help.


I'll add you to the 2010 cruising destinations chart when I get a chance.


Admin

[simpleered]

An excellent and very interesting report Dave, even to a non adventurous fishing member such as myself.I enjoyed it very much. Brian King