Wednesday, 30 April, 2008

Safe Crossing of the Bay of Biscay
We had a very safe crossing Friday, Saturday and Sunday with an average speed of 5.5 knots; not what we expected, but better than the alternative of a rough passage. My first lesson was the difference between delivery and cruising--if our sailing speed is below 5 knots, we motor. I also learned that, if done correctly, catamarans can go on one engine. To use both consumes twice the fuel and only adds a marginal improvement in speed. We left La Rochelle, with one reef in the main sail and left it there for of the passage.

We also got our watch schedules sorted with Captain Larry and Alex taking a six hour shift with one on watch and the other on standby in 3 hour sub-shifts. Dominique and I work the next watch the same way. As we better understand the ile de Grace, we’ll shift to two hours on and six hours off.

By Sunday night, it was clear that we should top off our fuel before heading around Finisterre and we had a small fresh water leak in our port bilge so we had already decided to pull into La Coruna on the Northwest coast of Spain when we heard from the Spanish Coast Guard that there were gale warnings within the next 24 hours. The first squall (30 knot winds) actually hit within 6 hours, making for a very interesting watch for Larry and Alex. Happy to say, ile de Grace handled it quite nicely.

La Coruna

So we have been forced to wait out the gales in a very charming Spanish town in Galicia; being forced to eat tapas, fresh calamari, and drink great Spanish wine, while Force 8 winds blew off shore.

But it hasn’t been all fun and play. I, with my mediocre Spanish, got a sail maker to come by Monday to look at a small tear in our main sail and schedule a repair. Larry, Alex and Dominique took the sail off and are currently putting it back on. Next, they got the depth sensor working--it worked just fine in sea trials, but, amazingly the Bay of Biscay read 5.4 meters the whole crossing! Next, they solved the leak in the port bilge. Packing styrofoam had gotten into the pump in Larry’s shower and backed up. Alex, who loves bilge work, did most of the honors, with much encouragement from Dominique. Nevertheless, they both decided that the next time there’s a bilge problem, Larry gets to do the tasting (for salt or fresh water). One tiny leak remains in the starboard bow ceiling, but Larry came up with a good temporary fix until we can figure it out and we are satisfied. All boats have their shakedown issues, and so far, ours have been minor and manageable.

In the Meantime….
I’ve decided to upgrade from my small 44 foot catamaran to this….

The Queen Elizabeth II docked near us Tuesday on what I believe is her last voyage before becoming a floating hotel in Dubai.

The final squalls are coming through today and we plan to leave tomorrow morning. Captain Larry expects a 7 to 8 day passage to the Azores, and our plan is to head for the island of Faial and its port of Horta. If the winds push us further south, then we’ll just have to go to Madeira. (Not a bad backup plan.)

Adios,
Jennifer

Au Revoir La Rochelle

Friday, 25 April 25, 2008: Today we say goodbye to the charming town of La Rochelle, where the people are friendly, the seafood is incredible and there are sailing masts as far as the eye can see. The sea trials ended April 18th and Ile de Grace was determined to be sea worthy by the co-owner of Fountain Pajot, Eric Brunell. To get to this point, we owe many thanks to Gregor Tarjan of Aeroyachts, our broker and friend, whose enthusiasm for multi-hulls is unending and inspiring. He made the final commissioning of the boat go smoothly.
The staff of Fountain Pagot was also prompt to respond to any inquiry or problem, but special thanks must be given to Jean Vincent and Muriel for their professionalism and assistance.

The captain and crew arrived Monday evening the 21st, and I think we have a great combination for a transatlantic passage. Captain Larry Trow, is making his 32nd transatlantic passage with his trusty sea mascot, who is making the same number. (More about the mascot in a future blog—have to see how good he keeps watch first.)
First Mate Dominique Mertens hails from Antwerp, Belgium and is making his third passage, after which he can captain deliveries himself. This is also his third trip with Captain Larry
Alex Nichols, Second Mate, is making his first passage like me, but unlike me, he has Yacht Masters ticket and more sailing experience. Being the youngest on the boat, however, he had the pleasure of inspecting the top of the mast and installing our radar reflector. Here he is waving hello to his mom (at my request).
Along the way, we have also made new friends with other Fountain Pajot owners. Lawrence and Lexie own a 60’ Eluthra named Papillon and were sources of much needed company before the crew arrived as well as information and tips about our boats, provisioning, and restaurants. Their crew, Harvey and Todd were also instant friends. Next door to our boat is another Orana 440, Far Out, owned by Rick and Barbara. Because our boats are hull numbers 20 and 21, we have relied on each other this week for help understanding our boat’s particular idiosyncrasies. In fact, I still owe Rick a drink for his noticing that our anchors were too small for our boat. 35 lbs. were installed instead of the necessary 45 lbs. FP had the correct one exchanged within hours, so all’s well that end’s well, and many thanks Rick!

Provisioning and preparing Ile de Grace has consumed most of our time. All that remains is rigging the jack stays and topping off the fuel and water. Our float plan is to arrive in the Azores by May 6th, Bermuda by May 21st and Annapolis by May 29th. This is a conservative plan, so hopefully we’ll make better time. The weather looks good for our plans to get around Spain, and if the gods are good to us, then we’ll head out straight for the Azores. If they are not, then we will duck into one of several Spanish towns that Captain Larry knows, which would not be so bad.

So wish us well and I’ll post at our next landfall. Jon may hear from us by satellite phone. When he does, he’ll keep you all posted on our positions and conditions. All the best, and Godspeed.

Jennifer

Sea Trial

Jennifer landed in La Rochelle last week, and took possession on Friday.  I'll let her post her first-hand impressions, but here's a picture of her during Grace's sea trial. It's a tough job, but someone had to do it!

The Deeds Are Done ...

Aftrer several frenetic weeks of orchestrating a small army of wonderful partners, we have title to our boat, it's insured, the Coast Guard is processing our registration, we have our LLC, we picked out our moorage arrangement, and we have a delivery company lined up to take our boat from France to Annapolis.

Fittingly, in a kind of galactic karma, we closed out the final arrangements on the very day we met up with our friends James, Ingrid, Benjamin, and Gabriella, who had joined us for the pivotal and wonderful one-week test sail of the catamaran sailing/life style in the summer of 2006. We were able to celebrate with them the end of our beginning: we're now ready to begin the breaking-in/learning process of a new boat, in anticipation of our January 1, 2010 departure date.

Our boat's name -- now final -- is Ile de Grace -- a name coined by Jennifer and Kate, and speaking directly to our collective view of the boat: our own island of grace.

Jennifer leaves next week to take possession in La Rochelle, France, and will be joining the delivery skipper and crew for the trans-atlantic passage. Fair winds and smooth seas!