Liberation Day May 9th Guernsey

We hope you enjoy these clips and help it never to happen again.

Liberation day Guernsey Lest we forget

May 9th A day to remember. Here in the Channel Islands we were under the German army from 1940 to 1945 and on May9th the war ship bulldog anchored in the russel and soldiers were landed to take the unconditional surrender from the commanding officer of the German garrison. Not only is it a day to remember for the joy to be free again but also a day to remember the cost of that freedom. So many millions died so that we today can live in freedom, where we can say and pretty much do as we like. I find myself asking this question? When we see how the youth of today behave and the total disrespect they have for the older generation do they ever stop to think that but for them their lives would be totally different. They would be unmercifully punished for their actions, sent to labour camps and some times even tortured or shot. So Liberation day is a day that we should ALL remind the youth of today about and the price paid. It seems so little that a liberation day parade is our way of saying to all those that have sacrificed life and limb for our freedom THANK YOU.

Guernsey

Here is a compilation of some shots of the island of Guernsey in the Bay of St Malo France hope you like them.
We are here for 2 weeks and then off again around the bay of St Malo from Dielette to Morlaix so keep looking and we hope to keep you amused

First trip to guernsey 2009

Well we left Morlaix Locks at 06:40 French time and calmly traveld down the river to Chateaux Taureau where we parted company with Mary & Tony aboard Cap Cornwal. They had spent yet another winter in Morlaix and were heading back to their home port Falmouth. The winds were F1 SW so we had to motor all the way 14 hrs later and we arrived in Guernsey to a warm welcome ( Hi Pete and Sal go wherever you like see you in the morning) and that was that. Claude the skipper of Pet a 106 year old pilchard chaser with his girlfriend Sue ( Sal's cousin) met us in the marina and treated us to Fish and Chips, lovely. We will stay here for about 12 days to see friends and Sal's mum. We left Graham on Deep Thought in Morlaix as he decided to stay till friday and then head for Camaret. What a guy. He was getting all the rubbish and things he didn't need anymore off the boat which amounted to papers from 1982 to present, 5 bags. 1 Ironing board and a load of other stuff. Graham is sailing on his own on a westerley33 ketch he is a great guy and likes to think realy hard about all jobs to be done on the boat so they only get done once. He is heading for Gibralter to spend the next winter there so we hope to keep in touch. Right time 07:00BST time for my breakfast so see you all again soon. Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy.

Work Finnishes

This is always a lovely time for Sal and I as the last job to be done means that we are nearly ready to go sailing for the summer. We have about 7 boats here in Morlaix that we look after for the owners. It gives them peace of mind to know that there is someone on the spot to keep an eye on their investments. This is a Westerley Konsort that had the usual winter crud on and the owner wanted us to get her ready for the season so we Pressure washed, degreased and the polished her. Sally repaired the sprayhood and now we think she looks alot better.

Visitors

You just never know who is going to arrive here in Morlaix. Just the other day we heard an American accent and thought Dutch and Brenda who bought our old Falmouth Pilot had arrived early but no. In came a 30ft sailing yacht from Champaign Illinois USA.
So we have now made friends with the owner Jim a lovely character. He shows all the signs of a man who has been places and knows how to save money. He saw a pair of riggers boots in a shop for a good price and bought them as they were a 1/4 of the price of yachting boots. But the next day we saw Jim with a hacksaw and an angle grinder. I know, you shouldn't ask but I had to. What are you up to Jim. Well Jims says the soles and heels stick out too much and I catch my boots on all the deck fittings so I am cutting off all the surplus and then grinding it back to get a good finnish. Where have all the people that used to think like this gone. Today it is too easy for people to just pass over the bucks and get what the chandlers want us to buy.
Good on you Jim.

Repairs

This year we decided to just make repairs to Feels Good and Paint her next year. The problems is the gel coat has been in the med for a long time and has faded to different colours in different places. So I repaired the star cracks and then degreased the hull and gave her 2 coats of Polytrol varnish. So she looks ok for this year. All we have to do now is go to Guernsey where we dry her out on a pad in the Victoria Marina (£10 per day) pressure wash and antifoul and then we are off again. We are hoping to go to Dielette on the Normandie coast so will get some shots. Then to Jersey Guernsey's sister Island and then to Granville also on the Normandie coast. So watch this space

Mud,Mud,Mud

Well here we are with Morlaix facing yet another year with the problem of Mud. It runs off the fields at the top of the river and gets into the marina and silts it up. So every year they have to pump it out so we can get out to sail. Here is the pump arriving with all the pipe work. The mud is pumped up to a field 2 kilometres away where the Mud and Water are seperated then the water is sent back to the marina and the mud is spread over the fields. One of the problems is bits of trees and bushes that come down the river and get stuck in the mud so as you can see now and then we have to remove them before thay get stuck in the rudder or prop. But its all part of the fun of the boating life and gives spectators a laugh.

The Season Starts 2009

Well the 2009 season has started. We have washed the topsides with Carolin Ultra Degreasant which removes all the old polish and ALL dirt. After this Sal and I polished the topsides with Starbrite P.T.F.E (Teflon) We find this gives us an all year protection form the elements so less work in the season when we will be enjoying ourselves sailing. Next job was the hull. We moved Feels Good to a side pontoon to do the gel repairs on 4 star cracks we have just below the rail (These were on the hull when we bought her in 2005). The repairs went well but we couldnt match the green so we now have 4 spiders on the hull. We decided to varnish the hull again this year as its cheap and lasts for about 2 years and with the cash situation we have to watch it. So we washed the hull the same way as the topsides and applied a coat of varnish. We find that as the boat is 32 years old she looks OK but there are few patches of colour change in the hull so will Paint her in the next 2 years. Next is the wood work but thats another story so keep looking.

Prepairing a yacht for the open sea

Prepairing a yacht for single handed sailing
On Deck

The important thing to remember is when a yacht is in the harbour it moves very little. When you set out to sea the same yacht moves alot.
Starting on deck. The anchor and its cable should be fastened down so that it can't be thrown around in a sea way. Anchor points for all blocks should be checked and renewed at ANY signs of wear. Sheet Cars anchor points should be checked for any movement and tightened up then cars sprayed with silicone spray. Winches should be stripped and cleaned and new pawl springs fitted, greased and rebuilt. Check ALL cleats for tightness and damage. Spray hood stitching and anchor points should be checked and a new clear panel fitted if the old one is even a bit foggy.
All the standing rigging should be checked for worn or broken parts. Running rigging should be washed and changed if ANY wear is visable.
Sails should be washed dried and given to a sailmaker for servicing. Nonslip deck paint should have no flaking or worn spots reaply a coat if nessesary. Non painte decks should be washed with hot water and a degreasant then rinsed with fresh water. Stitching on Lifelines must be checked and restitched if ANY signs of wear. Stantion bases and guard wires check for wear or movement.
I would recommend that ALL navigation light bulbs be replaced with LED as they are better suited to the marine enviroment and last a long time and burn less volts. Rudder gudgeons and pintles should be checked for wear and replaced if nessesary. Check the tiller for wear or cracks.

Below decks #1

ALL cushions should be held in place by velcro. All locker doors wether sliding or pull open should have locks on them. All floor panels should have locks on them that can be opened in an emergency. Fridge, Cooker, Coolbox, and chart table should have locks. Pan holders on the cooker MUST be able to hold a full pressure cooker in place in case of a 360 roll. Sharp knives are best keept on the back of a locker door in a block of wood aprox 12" x 8" x 3/4" with the shape of the knives cut out to fit. If kept in a draw they can take off a finger in the dark. Loose items should be held in place so they will not move in rough seas especialy things like deviders and pencils and pens. On the loose these things become wepons that can cause serious injuries.
When storing food and drinks it is best to keep them in lower lockers. Tape tins,jars,bottles and packets in pairs they dont roll around.
Batteries should be strapped down with strong nylon straps to a good anchor point. In the cockpit Gas bottle and the spare should be held down with nylon straps and make sure that the rubber hose is in good condition and the drain hole is clear of spiders and rubbish, also check the copper pipe can not be damaged in its run to the cooker. Tye down spare cans and anything else that can move in the cockpit locker. Check the cockpit drain hoses and clips and clear any rubbish from them. Check the standing rigging anchor points.

Below decks #2

The engine should be serviced and any parts replaced. Fit a SPEEDSEAL and new impeller. Refill oil and add MOLYSLIP it will help give you many hours of trouble free motoring and save engine wear.
Fill the diesel tank and add SOLTRAN it is the best on the market to prevent contamination of the fuel and filters.
Wash and treat water tanks and fine filter ALL water you put in them to save getting algae in them. Fit a silver impregnated carbon water filter on the tap you use for drinking and cooking as this will give you bottle quality water.

Stern gear Engine & Electrics #2

The prop shaft should be drawn to check the stern gland, shaft and seals any worn parts should be replaced.Check engine mounts and tighten if nessesary. Check ALL electrical connections and smear with vasalene as its the best. Check the keel bolts and look outside at the joint, if you see any rust weeping from the joing you will need the keel reseated.

Recomended equipment

These recomendations are for a yacht sailing offshore. By this I mean a yacht that will be sailed in the open sea. I have tested the equipment on my own yacht and it all works to help you make safe passages anywhere either single handed or with a crew. Some of the equipment may be outside of your budget but I have marked with a * equipment that you must have.
* 2 speed winches as when you get tired they will help you to keep the rig in tune.
* Strong anchor points to fix your harness to.
* Life lines fore and aft with strong anchor points.
* Servo pendilum steering gear (NEPTUNE) a crew member that does'nt answer back, get tired or eat.
* A Long wooden oar and a crutch on the transom in case of no fuel or engine breakdown.
* Life jacket 150N with harness and crutch strap.
* Knife single hand opening in nylon scabbard with lanyard .
* Pressure cooker ( saves on gas).
* Spare tiller.
* Staylock double fittings for rig repair.
* Spare length of standing rigging wire and cutters for repairs.
* Sea anchor.
* Fortress anchor of the right size with 10 metres of chain and 50 metres of rode.
* Kedge anchor with braided nylon line on roller on the pushpit.
* LED navigation lights ( they burn very little and are not effected by temperature changes or water.
* One piece dry suit with mid layer polar.
* Kevlar gloves ( they protect your hands from accidental cuts.
* Mast climbing gear ( I will explain this at the end).
* Manual bilge pump with a roming flexable hose to reach all parts in the boat.
* First Aid kit (take medical advice for this as it might have to cope with any kind of emergency.

* Hat ( Sowester is the best, I have used one of these old style hats for 50 years and never had water down the back of my neck.

* Comprehensive tool kit to cope with any problem.

Duegen ( water or air generator I think is the best.

Solar panel 85 watt

General information

The mast climbing gear I use is 2 x tripple blocks 50mm dia one with a becket you will need 7 times the hight of your mast for the rope which should be soft buff finnish on the lower block you have a cleat like the mainsheet. attach the top block to the main halyard and raise it to the top of the mast and secure on a mast cleat. Then attach the bottom pully to your harness or chair and pull yourself up the mast cleating yourself off at any point you want. I can lift myself up our mast in 3 mins with ease and I weigh 75 kilos. I keep all the rope and blocks in a soft nylon bag ready for use at any time.

While I have tried to give good advice here and have used all the equipment you have to make the decisions for your self. Just ask yourself this question DO I WANT TO SAIL SAFELY AND ENJOY MYSELF. If the answer is yes then I hope this advice will help you acheive that goal.

Our Home for you to see

We have had alot of e-mails asking to see what the inside and outside of Feels Good looks like so I have tried to make a little slide show for you all to see. I hope you like it.

very helpfull site

This is a site that all live aboards and people that would like to live aboard should look at I think its brilliant.
www.livingonaboat.co.uk
Its full of very good advice from knowledgable people.

Trusting Friends

We are blessed with very good friends here in Morlaix. When ever they want to go on holliday they have to find a place for their little dog BALU. We offered to have her on our boat and have had no problems with her, she just settles down like it was her second home

--
If you Fail to Plan
You Plan to Fail

Good Old B&Q

Want to change the covering on the sole of your boat dont buy anything with marine in the name. We decided to go to B&Q and bought packs of wood effect 3'x6"x 2.5mm thick vinyl strips with adhesive on the back. we took up the old grey with black stripes and replaced it with the new old oak effect stripsTotal cost £60 instead of Marine product at £500 and total time 12 hrs. All in all a very servicable product that doesnt scratch and is easy to clean. We are very happy with it.

Best Product Award

This might be long but worth it.
As boating people we find that the marine industry has made every product you will need at a price. Well we have found a product that does most of the cleaning jobs at a price of €2.75 for 750ml. The product is called Carolin Ultra Degraissant sadly it is not on sale in the uk but is in all European countries. We use it on the cloths washing to remove grease spots and hard dirt stains. On the boat it cleans black lines on the gel coat in a second. It de greases the engine in seconds all I do is spray the Carolin on the engine and gearbox wait 2 mins and then use an old spray bottle filled with warm water and rinse it of Then start the engine to dry all done in no time at all and leaves the engine room smelling lovely. On the boat we use it to clean the big windows you find on the CW's and takes seconds. In the house it will remove years of tobacco stains without any hard scrubbing and grease from the cooker the same way. Mould spots gone in seconds,garden chairs white in seconds the list goes on and on.
At a price that we can all afford FORGET all those expensive marine products and get yourselves some CAROLIN.

contacting us

If anyone wishes to contact us on any of the topics in our blog please e-mail to
salpetemaja3@hotmail.com

re supply

As we carry about 6 months food on the boat to save money we went back to Morlaix to restock the boat. After Sally had restocked for another 6 months we were ready for the off again this time heading west for L'Aberwrach and the new marina. on arrival we decided to stay on the mooring bouys for a few days as they are cheaper €14.30. Then we asked on the vhf if we could go into the new marina. The reply was a very nice polite young man in his rib who showed us to our place made sure we had all we needed and then headed off for his next coustomer. We had to move a couple of times because of the Figaro race boats but it was no bother as we were asked so nicely and helped each time. We feel that we must say that the all the staff from the harbourmaster to the girls in the office are the BEST they cant do enough for you. At the Cafe du Port you can get free internet access on either their computer or yur own laptop but as I have said before what does it cost you for a loaf of bread and a cup of coffee. We were in L'Aberwrach for a few days then left for Camaret.

Food Supplies

Once again we loaded the boat to the top with all the nice things Sal's mum likes and headed for Guernsey. The crossing was as usual a nice sail with the wind in the NW but a large swell that kept us rolling. While in Guernsey we caught up with friends and family and were kept busy with all their news. We met up with Jason Wood a very good friend of ours we had'nt seen for 5 years and he and his girlfriend Aga a polish girl kept us amused with all their tales. We didnt get the chance to go to Dielette this year as weather and time didnt alow it. The Guernsey sea festival was cancelled due to bad weather but it was no loss as it has turned into a regatta for snoby racing yachts. We saw the last night of the proms on a big screen in the marina and a firework display after.All very nice. We left Guernsey with a good forcast of NW 2-3 and 2-4' swell only to find after 5 hrs we had a SW 2 with a 3.5 metre swell from the NW so turned back and left on the sunday after that and had a wonderfull sail back to Treguier. We got in after the office shut and left in the morning before it opened but left the money for the night in the office post box too many people try to get away without paying which we feel is not good for the others that sail in the area.Now back in Morlaix for the winter we have logged 621.7 miles in varying degrees of wind,rain and sun but all in all a good summer. We are asked by alot of people why we dont go father afield our answer is we have sailed Feels Good from alicante in spain around the Spanish and Portuguese coasts and find now I am getting older we like to day sail around the brittany coast which we still consider to be one of the most beautifull in western europe. Dont be in a hurry to head south you will be missing a treasure chest of beauty with some of the most interesting and friendly people you could meet.

L'aberwrach + gales

One morning we found it was blowing a full gale and the swell running in the aber entrance was running about 4-5 metres. An english solo sailor came in and told us he was picked up on a wave at the first port marker and dropped by the east cardinale mark that has to be 300 metres and he was surfing at 14 knots he said he had'nt been so scared in all his atlantic crossing. I think people forget that L'Aberwrach is on the NW end of Brittany where you can get big swells and is open to the worst of the atlantic winds. A good point to remember. We left L'Aberwrach for Morlaix in a nice beam reach which saw us through the Isle du Batz passage at LW (scary) and up the river in time for the first lock 1.5 hrs before HW Morlaix. On arrival we saw that our friends Clive and Jenny Smith from Veronica were there for the summer so caught up with their news.

Camaret sur Mer

We go to Camaret quite alot as its probably our favourite place. This time we were kept there because of bad weather which was to plage us all summer. We met a lovely dutch couple Louis and Karen and Mipy the cat (14 years old) they were on their Hans Christian 42' heading for North Spain for the winter. They felt like us that life is for living and its quite a suprise when you realise how little you can live on when you try. There was another Dutch motor yacht there but in another class 90' long and costing €11,000,000 a little out of our class but the owners and crew were very nice. We decided to go up to Port Launay which means that we leave Camaret at low water and head up the L'aune river about 30 miles to arrive at Gully Glas locks at HW. we arrived in company with 2 other french boats to find no lockkeeper so one of the skipers knocked on the lockkeepers door to see when he would open only to be told he wasnt opening that night. because of this we had to head back down river back to the anchorage at Terenez as you are not permitted to navigate the river above this point after dark. On the way back we saw a british yacht making her way up and told her to turn around as there was no lock. We all just made it back to Ternenz to anchor for the night by the old navy boats for a quiet night. The next day we headed back to Camaret to make a formal complaint as we felt the lockkeeper had put 4 yachts in a possition of danger having to navigate an uncharted river after dark. We had some good weathr in camaret so could catch up on the washing and clean the boat. After waiting for the gales to drop we decided to go no further south but would head back up to Morlaix.

What a lovely welcome

Next stop was Pontrieux 14 miles from the entrance to the Trieux River you go up the river to Lezardrieux then further up under the bridge and then a further 7 miles up one of the most beautifull rivers in Brittany passing under the famous Chateau Roche Jagu then on up to the L'ecluse (Lock) at Pontrieux where the Lock keeper is waiting for you to be let into the river basin where you tie up alongside the quay. On arrival the harbourmaster Stefan 1 asked us if we wanted to stay for 10 days as we could then stay for the rest of the month free also if we wanted a yearly berth for our 9.6 metre boat at €450 for the year. We declined as we have a yearly berth in Morlaix €960 per year. Waking up to the sounds of silence and the ducks and swans asking for breakfast was wonderfull. There is a market town just 10 mins walk from the marina and a supermarket that will deliver to your boat also there is a little english B&B that has internet access and doesnt charge but a cup of tea and a bun is cheap so why not help his trade. You can get the train to Paimpol from the station which is 2 mins from the boat and costs €2 but I got a reduction as I am over 60 a bonus but you have to ask for it.

Early Start

Well starting the season early was the right thing to do. We left Morlaix on the 4th May and found Treguier almost empty but had a lovely welcome from Jean-Jacque the harbour master. We like Treguier as we have made many friends there and of course there is the Auberge Tregor a lovely resturant opposite the church up an alley on the left. A typical lunch from the 4 choices on the board will cost you about €22 and thats for a 3 course meal with wine and coffee for 2 people.
Next stop and a first for us was St Quay Portrieux an all tide marina which was empty when we arrived on a beautiful day with sun and little wind. On arrival we were met and taken to our finger pontoon which are now 8.5 metres long so no more acrobatics to get off the boat. The heads and showers are about the best in brittany very clean but expensive as €2 for a shower and you only have 8 mins from the time the coing drops. There are some lovely walks around the coast line and a little town where there is a market on Friday and another on the quay on Mondays but smaller. we paid €124 for a week out of season which is good for this quality of marina. We were blockaded by the fishermen who were complaining about the price of diesel as it has gone from €500 a day for the bigger boats to €1000 a day but they said if we wanted to leave they would let us we decided to stay and suport them. A must visit place.

2008 the season starts

Well the season has started early this year as we have left Morlaix and headed for Guernsey to fuel up and see Sal's mum with all the usual stores. The price in france at the garages for diesel is now €1.32 per lit and in Guernsey it is £0.64 per lit so quite a saving on 500 litres. We left Morlaix at 06:00 UTC at the lock and were at Chateau Taureau an hour later in sunshine and a little mist but no wind at all. we then put Feels Good on a heading of 050 degs and spent the next 14 hrs at an average of 5.4 knots on the way to Guernsey set the pilot and dont touch the wheel for 74 miles as its straight up. We picked up a nice f3 ESE so set all sail and at one point at slack water just off the Roche Douvres we were doing 6.2 knots, not bad for a boat with an all up weight of 15 tons. We arrived at St Martins point to the sound of loud music which we found out was a pop festival being held 3 miles from the marina. Some friends who came down from Alderney said they could hear it 18 miles of the north coast of Guernsey. It finished at 20:00hrs so at least we could sleep. We found the Victoria marina almost empty as it is at this time of year and decided to stay for 8 days as you only pay for 6. Discounting July and august you get 4 days for the price of 3 so at £18.00 per night that saves a bit. Well our next stop will be Diellete for a couple of days so will report on this port the next chance we have for the net. Happy sailing to you all.

save your batteries

We all want our batteries to last longer as they are so expensive to buy in the first place. I have decided to change all the boats lights to LED and contacted http://www.triton-marine.co.uk/ to get the lights required. Thinking of the power my anchor light uses over night I bought one of their LED anchor lights a lovely bit of kit. On test I could see the LEDs from a fraction over 2 miles. I have fitted mine into an old dioptic lensed light I had and now can be seen from about 3 miles so I am well pleased a light that could last 100,000 hours and no more battery drain

Safety First very important

As a marine consultant I see many products hitting the market hoping you will part with your hard earned cash and most of them are not realy up to the job. I have just tried a product called SPEEDSEAL in our boat. To change the impeller in our raw water pump in a marina berth took me 1hr 45 mins as I only have 100mm in front of the pump because of a water tight bulkhead. I bought a SPEEDSEAL and fitted it in 3 mins. I then took the boat to sea in a F5 and tried to change the impeller. From the time I opened the engine room hatch to the time I closed it after changing the impeller took me 5 mins and 12 secs and this was while the boat was rolling through 48degs and the engine was hot. As you will see from this test to have a SPEEDSEAL is a major saving in time spent in the engine room at sea and a considerable safety factor in the lesser down time for the motor. If you are interested in the SPEEDSEAL contact them at http://www.speedseal.com/ and talk to Alex a most helpfull man.

Friends Arrive

Well on Sat 5/4/2008 We had the lovely suprise of seeing our friends Clive & Jenny Smith on their old scottish MFV arrive here in Morlaix. We arranged a berth for them as the cost of keeping her in the Isle of Wight is now silly. I think the marina owners in the UK think they can just keep putting up the price and people will keep paying but as Clive & Jen said people are starting to vote with their feet or boats by moving to Europe. They arrived in good weather to a lovely trip up the river from the river entrance 6 miles away. Now they can relax and get on with the few jobs Clive wants to do on her before they head back to the Isle of Wight were Clive is a Marine Surveyor and Jenny is a Nurse. We have started the usual jobs polishing and varnishing in the hope of a good season. As we have a dark green hull the sun plays havoc with it so 3 years ago we tried a new product called Polytrol on the hull and she looks as good now as when we did her. If anyone is interested in what to do just drop us a line and I will be happy to give all the info. It saved us about £3000 on a paint job.

washing machine and spin dryer

We have had so many enquiries about the washing machine we use and the spin dryer I thought it would be a good idea to put the address for them on the blog.
We save about £1000 a year on the washing as the laundries are so expensive. With ours we put 12 litrs of hot water then 2 caps full of liquid soap in the machine and then set the timer for 10 mins and this gets even the worst dirt out. when the machine stops Sal puts the load in a bucket and I put it in the spinner, spin out the soapy water and give that back to sal. Then I add some softner and about 3 litres of cold water from the hose and spin that. One more rinse with the hose and then on the line. If there is a bit of wind even in the winter we can have them dry in a couple of hours not bad 5 loads washed and dry for pence in 3 hrs instead of waiting at the laundry for 1 hr for 1 load. The washing machine is a MW100 without spinner but smaller motor 450watts and all HI plastic. The Spinner is a Zanussi gravity spindryer about 240 watts total cost £200 so in the first year you can save £800. The dimentions of the machine are 530mmHx460mmWx420D
http://www.hermeselectronics.nl/groep-139/wasmach-bovenladers/

2006

The year of 2006 was to find Sal and I trying to recoup some of the costs of our 7 month trip up from Alicante in Spain to Morlaix in Brittany. We also made a list of all the things we could do to make Feels Good perfect. As Sal is a Financial Advisor and I am a Marine Consultant we have our hands full with clients so it was a busy year but rewarding as we are now totally retired and enjoying Feels Good

Last Port in Spain

The last port we visited in Spain was the new marina Viveiro a beautifull marina at the inner end of a huge ria on the top of the spanish coast. The trip from Cedeira to Viveiro was to be one of the toughest I have made in a yacht of 32feet. As we rounded the top of spain heading for France once again with a good forecast from the French and Spanish we heard over the VHF that the Viveiro Atlantic fishing fleet was heading home and encountering storm conditions. They hit us 5 hours out of Viveiro. We were surfing down breaking waves that were we were told up to 45 feet at speeds up to 14 knots with just the missen and very small fore sail. I must say that when Mr Watson designed our boat he really thought about rough weather sailing as we found her easy to control and she never tried to broach. We waited in Viveiro for a month and then in the last week of Sept made the crossing to Camaret in 60 hrs in good conditions. We arrived to a lovely reception from our friends George and Ann Newbold. This was the end of a 2005 season that had taught us that working together with a well found boat like ours is safer than crossing the road. Sal and I are now of the opinion that we can rely on Feels Good to always bring us home safely.

Do we listen to the weatherman?

We decided that as the weather forecast for the next 5 days was NW 5-6 we would head for Concarneau in France. We left early in the morning from La Coruna with grey skies and a force 4 NW so all up and off we go. we were just out of the ria when the weather decided to give us a little more to do. It went from 5-6 to 9 with gusts to 10 and we were to find out how well our Colvic Watson was built. Where do we go? We were fighting seas higher than we were long so looking on the charts we decided that the safest place to head for was an anchorage called Cedeira. As we approached we were in company of another yacht. As we both surfed in at 11 knots with nothing up bare sticks and the engine ticking over at 500 rpm we rounded a corner and came to a dead stop in calm water in one of the prettiest anchorages we have seen. Sal cooked a lovely meal we opened a bottle of the old spanish plonk and spent a very quiet night snoring away.

Hell of a Shock in La Coruna

After another bouncy day at sea we arrived at La Coruna feeling very tired. the seas had been big with breaking waves and the wind on the nose as usual and force 9 with gusts. I think Sal will remember Cape Finistere for ever. We arrived looking for the new marina. having found it we asked for a berth only to be told take anyone you fancy. We thought this is good and settled in to a nice new berth and plugged in the electrics to put the kettle on. "Excuse me came the call from a dutchman" have you seen the charges for here? He then almost gave me a heart attack they wanted €10 per metre per night. SAL cut the lines were off bloody quick. On arrival at the old marina the marinero said thought you would be here in a minute. Welcome and we only charge €14 per night for your boat. So be warned New isn't always better.

THIS is what you call sandcastles

Figueira da Foz was just another stop over place to get fuel and water but we had a surprise one evening as we walked on the sea front looking for a phone to call Sal's mum. We spotted a sand sculpture exhibition so spent a couple of hours looking around. They are realy clever and knock my attempts at sand castles into a cocked hat. Next was to head for La Coruna our first stop in northern spain and the weather getting nasty.

And now the Atlantic

Sal had never sailed in the atlantic and as we were going up the coast of Portugal I said its not exactly in the ocean but difficult as we will have head winds all the way. As we rounded Cabo St Vincente we got our first taste of what it was going to be like. Leaving Cabo St Vincente to Stbd about 1 mile we hit the ocean rollers wind 40knots and a 4 metre swell smack on the nose. So missen and double reefed main and the iron topsail on and off we went. We stopped in many ports on the way to the north of spain but I will just speak about a couple.
Port da Nazare was a big surprise as when we entered we were greeted by an Irish harbourmaster. Then we were helped to tie up by our swiss friends that we had last seen in Morlaix 2 years before. It is a port you stop for fuel at and thats that its mainly a fishing port with a couple of pontoons.

International help day

We arrived in Lagos after sailing along the Algarve on blue transparent seas in 40 degs and sunny. On arrival in Lagos we had found a problem with the engine leaking oil. As we were walking down the pontoon we were stopped by a Welsh man who said he knew the previous owners of our boat. While we were chatting I mentioned about the oil leak and he put us in touch with a New Zeland guy who worked for the local Audi Agency.Ram found that we had a faulty front end oil seal and fitted the new one in 3 hrs(total cost €75) Then we had an English electrician correct the last of the electrical problems.Truly International help. We were going to stay in Lagos for the winter as it was getting late to go up the portugiese coast but found it too expensive. We left at 03:00hrs sailing between tha entire fishing fleet on radar alone as they dont all use their nav lights. We had made many friends in Lagos and were sad to leave but one day we might return.

You Never Know

No you never know who you will see when you are cruising.

We were calling Rota Marina on the VHF when suddenly we heard a yacht calling us. It was the yacht KIT KAT with Debby and Sean on board. We first met them when they were in Morlaix getting ready to go to the med. We had a lovely 2 weeks helping them get the boat ready and were sad to see them leave saying we might meet up one day. They were in another port 15 miles away and brought their boat over to spend a couple of days with us. When they left us in morlaix they asked what they could do to repay us for all the help and our reply was our usual one." If you find yourselves in the position to help anyone please do so and dont think of the cost it will always come back to you somehow. We have since heard of at least 5 or 6 people who they have helped and one family they fed for a week as the man from another boat was in hospital and his 2 kids and his wife were struggling. Sal taught Debby to use a pressure cooker and the last e-mail we had was that Debby had cooked a whole packet of pasta in it and they were eating pasta cake for a month. Ah well such is life.

More Berths In Spain

As we aproched the last marina in spain (Ayamonte) the pilot book warned of sand banks and said if you called the marina a boat would come out to steer you through them as they are constantly moving. No boat to follow and a few scary moments as we touched a couple of times but we arrived safely only to be told we had 2 days and then had to go as they were moving all the boats and putting in another 175 berths so if you go, there should be plenty of room. It has a beautifull town and the locals are very friendly. We found a couple of resturants on the seafront that did good food at a good price. Be carefull if you are thinking of anchoring in the river as we saw trees coming down and I mean TREES.

double the weather

In the med you have to watch the weather realy closely as even the locals get it wrong. When we left Gibralter the weather gave force 4NE at Tarifa point a place known well by the locals as dangerous for the winds. A local fisherman told us to double the forcasted wind and be ready for a wind shift. We approached Tarifa Point with 1 reef in the main and 2/3 of the geny out doing 6 knots in a NE4-5 . At Tarifa Point we got a shift to NW and up to 7 with gusts at 47 knots but no probs and we were past the point in no time at all at 9.5 knots and heading for the bay of cadiz and Portugal.

Happy Marinero

We arrive at Fuengirola Marina in the afternoon on a hot and sunny day and reported to the tower. Asking for a berth the lady in control said that they were full but as we only wanted a couple of nights we could use the hammer head on the end of the visitors quay. Fine but at about 18:00hrs we were asked to move as the local ferry was coming in. We were glad we did as its big and comes in fast. The last day we were there I went to the tower to pay and someone locked the gate to the quay. Big search for the marinero who I found in the office> I explained saying that I was sorry but I spoke very little spanish and he answered me in english "sorry I speak no english" We ended up laughing so much we were almost sick but I got back to the boat ok for a good nights sleep ready for the off the next day. If you go there look for a little fat Marinero with his shirt hanging out and laughing all the time. A really friendly place who try hard to make your stay pleasant.

FIRE FIRE FIRE

These must be the most frightening words ever heard on a boat at sea.

We were approaching Benalmadena marina when we had an electrical fire in the engine room . The automatic fire defence put it out but we had to get a berth. On arrival we were told they only had a berth for an 18 metre yacht so we had to take it at €35 a night. to keep the story short I will give the basic facts. We were helped by a spanish electrician called Carlos Centurian. He helped me rewire the boat completely found us new batteries and gave us his discount so we only paid 70%. for them. after being there for about 10 days we headed of for Fuengirola.

(if you would like to know more about the Benalmadena story post me your e-mail address and I will send the full story)

You Should never tell lies

We left Almerimar again in lovely sunshine and headed for our next stop Almeria being new to the med we called them on the VHF and asked them if we could have a berth for a couple of days. The answer was a definate NO they said that they were full and had no spot for visitors. As we passed we found ourselves in the middle of an American battle fleet with all sorts of craft buzzing around the place. As is the American way they considered us a bloody nuisance and made things a bit difficult to manouver around the many fish farms in the area. We decided to give the next place close a look Aguadulce. God what a difference. We arrived unanounced and reported to the tower. We were met by a lovely spanish lady who spoke perfect english and a beautifull smile. How may I help you she asked. After I got over the initial shock I asked her if we could stay for a couple of nights. No Problemo and we were helped to a fore and aft mooring. We spent about a week there and on one day we decided to visit the port of Almeria to see all the yachts. Bloody liars there was 60 empty places.

their loss. One night we were getting ready for dinner and I was having a fag when I watched the wind indicator go from 5knots to 55 knots in 3 mins. We were glad to be in a safe berth

Its not our fault

These 4 words are spoken in the med more than anything else. our next port of call was Almerimar. In its self not a bad port and the supermarket is well stocked and very close to the marina (4min walk). When we arrived we reported at the tower as usual and a marinero was dispatched with us to moor up fore and aft. He passed the ropes and we tied them on. I told him he had given us the wrong stern rope as it passed under the hull and I said it could catch in the prop when we leave. Its a no problemo signor!
The day we were leaving guess what yep the stern rope straight in the prop. I called the port office and they sent a diver to clear the prop and his first remark was you had the wrong line on the stern. as we left we had to call at the port office where we got a €75 bill after trying to argue the fact that it was their fault we gave up and left. As we said a nice place but the staff not so good.

Making new friends

The second day we were in Cartagena an American couple came in on their HR42 Steve & Jan Burkholder were watching Sal put out the washing and enquired where the laundry was> Sals reply we have a washing machine and a spin dryer on board it saves so much money. They had a problem with their fore hatch which leaked and all the bunk cusion covers were wet with salt water so I took them rinsed them in fresh water and gave them a spin. All dry in a couple of hours. The next day they had gone off so we had a quiet day sunbathing on deck as you do. When they came back they were carrying two big box's. Whats in the box's I asked? A washing machine and a spindryer came the merry reply. They had hired a car and driven to Alicante to the same shop we bought ours from and told the girl there they wanted the same machines that the Guernsey people had bought ( What it is to be famous) Since this we have been told of 7 other couples who have bought the same machines from the same store . Perhaps we ought ask for agents fees. The last thing we did with our new friends is take off the fore hatch and reseal it and the last e-mail we had was no leaks great.

Next stop Cartagena

The trip from Cabo de Palos to Cartagena was realy lovely we had a little wind so motore sailed all the way. Once again the Pilot book was Wrong it showed an entrance to the east of the main channel which when we got there had a dam great big concrete pier across it. we decided to use the west entrance which is straight forward and arrived in the marina to a lovely welcome with the staff helping us moore the boat up for the first time fore and aft. You come in forward they take your forward lines and you pick up the stern lines with the hook.It was easy.We asked if there was a super market where we could stock up and were told it is straight down that road. To shorten the storey to a low boredom threshold we walked 20 kilometres in all and when we got back we had seen half of spain on foot and a circus.

A lovely place but a Frightening entrance

One of the places we decided to visit on our way home was called the Mar menor. Its a great big area of sea encapsulated by a long sand spar with high rise buildings all along its shore the entrance is described in the pilot book as simple with deep water and a bridge (yeah right) the entrance is marked with a south cardinal bouy which would look good in a kiddies bath. we found this and entered the deep channel 1.85metres we draw 1.8metres once we had passed the bridge which opens every hour after 08:00 till 20:00hrs we found our selves in a lovely quiet marina but quite expensive (€25 per night)

we only stayed the one night and then set off heading for Gib. This time in a 3 metre swell,fog and no wind rounding Cabo de Palos within 15 metres and passing 6 yachts that we only saw on the radar.

Bloody British Government

We had to wait in alicante for 11 weeks as it is the drug centre of spain and we were advised by the harbourmaster that to leave without the ships papers would land us in prison and the boat arrested. (NO CHANCE) We were waiting for the SSR papers to come from the UK and 4 times we phoned them and explained the situation and they said Quote: They are in the post Sir. When Clive heard that we had'nt left and i explained the problem he said " I will have the paers with you in 3 days. Three days later we had the papers and when I asked Clive what he did he told me I did'nt want to know but involved a lot of swearing and a coule of threats. Finaly we were of. We set sail on a beautifull sunny day under full sail with the wind on the beam couldnt be better

Friends depart a sad farewell

After 2 weeks in which time we all had a realy great time our friends Clive & Jen had to go home. We had sailed Feels Good and motored her and checked just about everything but Clives parting words were be carefull. We were to remember those words in the coming weeks.

Boat Security

After all the work of unloading all our possesions the four of us decided to have a nap but did'nt have to worry about leaving all the doors open in the heat as our neighbour supplied security on a 24/7 basis all it cost was alot of fuss and the odd biscuit ( Cheap I would say)

Please send all our belongings when I phone you

When we sold the house we packed all the things we would need to live aboard both in the summer and the winter and left them with White & Co removal firm in Guernsey with instructions DO NOT send anything until I phone you.

Big mistake the day after we had bought Feels Good all our things turned up at the port captains office and we could'nt move on her for 7 days as the revious owners had to get all their stuff off. He was great they stored all our belongings in a secure store under the office and then brought it all down the day we moved on to Feels Good. Alicante is a realy friendly place and they speak english.

As We First Saw Feels Good

Here is Feels Good in Alicante Marina on the first day we saw her

A change in plans 2005

2005 was to be a year of changes and they started with Sal saying to me,"I dont want either of us to go back to work any more" I did'nt want to argue so asked how we were going to acheive this. We are going to sell the house invest the money and live carefully but injoy ourselves. we sold the house and started looking for a bigger boat as it would be our only home from now on. We found a Colvic Watson 32 Ketch in Alicante which looked just right so asked our friends Clive & Jenny Smith if they could come to spain to check her out (Clive is a Marine Surveyor very good and charges a reasonable price hard to find in this day and age) So off to spain.

The First Three Years

The next three years was spent sailing around the brittany coast and usualy coming back to Morlaix for the winter this was so we could call in to Guernsey for xmas to see Sal's mum and to check on the house. In this time we got friendly with the frenchman who lived on his yacht CLOEL a steel yacht designed for ocean sailing. I remember his first words to me they were I speak english. As neither Sal or I could speak french this was a bonus. Over the next three years we learned to speak french well and Roland spoke less english he said it was'nt nessesary as we now spoke good french. As I am a boatbuilder I have become known as the Guern that will always help and Sal has become known as the lady who is always cooking. Another neighbour Alain who lived on his yacht LILOU a plastic 30 footer was very pleased to receive a loaf from Sal but said he liked a little more salt cheeky bugger. here is a pic of the three of us from left to right Alain,Roland and me

And so it all started

We set off from Guernsey heading for the south of Brittany and were waiting for the weather in trebeurdon. after 3 days it looked good to go so we set off for the south only to find that within 4 hrs of leaving the meteo was wrong we got force 7 on the nose so decided to pull in to Morlaix a lovely safe marina 6 miles up a beautiful river. after we had been there for 5 days I my apendicts burst and I was rushed to Morlaix hospital a very quick 4 min ride from the marina. after 5 days the dr said I could'nt sail for 3 months so we decided to stay for the winter. The best decision we have ever made

the start

7 years ago on a Friday morning in April my then partner Sally said to me: When you go in to work today give a weeks notice we are going to retire lease the house and go off in Ilsham our 6 Ton Falmouth Pilot. One week later we had got married (I thought a 10 year engagement was just long enough) Painted the house in and out and set off on our little yacht.

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