Departure

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Pete and Eamonn arrived on Friday evening we all went for something to eat with Elaine. Saying goodbye to Elaine felt a bit emotional. It feels like we’ve been spending months saying farewell to people, since we left work and gradual doing the rounds to see people before we head off between getting things done. Saying goodbye to Elaine was the last of these and it all felt a bit poignant.

The morning after, following the safety brief, there was our momentous departure from Shamrock Quay. We filmed the departure to try to capture some of the sentiment felt in the significance of the occasion, but I’m sure it would really be able to do it justice. It was a steady sail to Calshot spit before the weather turned into a force 6 on the nose forcing us to beat down to Yarmouth where we waited for the tides to turn before heading off across the Channel.

On the Sunday, we departed at 5am to catch the tide through the needles, which also helped us make the best use of daylight. The wind was still on the nose, inevitably, but had lessened to a force 5. Our tack took us east of tack but was good to catch the west going tide later. The wind died a few hours before we made it to Alderney so we had to motor the last few miles. We moored up and a hearty meal and drinks on board.

Monday was spent in Alderney for the most part. We wandered into the town centre before having lunch, getting some last minute provisions and then leaving mid afternoon for the 125 mile journey to L’Aber Wrac’h on the Brittany coast. There was little wind on the way so we had to motor most of the way, making the journey uneventful, until we got close in, when the wind picked up.

We were now one step closer to the big Biscay passage.

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Photos

Eamonn
Glad to be out sailing, no matter what the weather...