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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