For much of the cold night I made good time (close to 6kts) motor sailing due South, only turning South East after passing Ajaccio at 01:00 (GMT). As daylight broke, the wind strengthened and shifted eastward, making progress uncomfortable. Rounding Le Moines, a 26m high light marking shoals extending 3 miles from the southwestern coast [...]
Of the many yachts poised to leave Calvi’s picturesque fisherman’s harbour I was the last to leave. After two days of sitting out the bad weather I was determined to make up for lost time and resolved to make Bonifacio my next port of call. The SW wind was not favourable but with a little [...]
**Snapshot of Eileen of Avoca’s route in 2007. Note that the GPS was switched off most of the time while traveling through the Belgian and French canals. I’d ranted in my log for many paragraphs on topics ranging from impossible work deadlines, horrendous Amsterdam traffic, long airport queues, unhelpful service desk personnel, zealous airport security [...]
Only twenty hours if I could keep an average of 5kt. The swell outside the harbour was very uncomfortable and for the first 4 hours Eileen of Avoca rolled heavily on a heading of 135°. I gave Eva a couple of Sturgeon tablets and sent her to bed as she was not feeling well and [...]
At this point I was already wondering where we should leave the boat as our holiday was nearing its end. Nice would be a prime candidate with its nearby airport and good transport links. I was very conscious that I still had to get back to Port St. Louis to collect my car. I ventured [...]
Steady North Easterlies gave us a good run to Gulf de la Napoule. I kept the mainsail double reefed but fears of a repeat of the previous days surprise were unfounded. If you like to watch super yachts, this is the place to do it. Eileen would make a nice tender for some of the [...]
It all started out so nicely, the wind from the NW was slight and gradually increasing so that by 14:00 Eileen of Avoca was making way at between 3 to 5kt. I took photos of our traveling companions boat “Hepta” while they took photos of Eileen of Avoca. In the lighter winds I needed to [...]
The Mistral winds howled through the rigging all night but by morning the tempest had subsided. Despite the improved conditions Eva and I decided stay at port and play tourist for a day and Port du Lavandou did not disappoint (see http://www.lelavandou.eu/port2001/index.htm). There’s good access to chandlers and sail makers in the port so I [...]
(06:00) An early start as the weather was set to turn this evening and I wanted to be as far as possible to the east so that the force of the Mistral would be somewhat moderated. My girlfriend Eva was not too pleased about leaving while it was still cold and dark. Mind you even [...]
(10:45) The beautiful weather and lack of wind saw the sea fill with a plethora of pleasure boats exploring the calanques (Mediterranean fjords) and islands to the south of Marseille, each vying for the best swimming spot. The calm weather allowed me to take the pass between the mainland and Ile Maire, and not to [...]
Port St. Louis du Rhone to Port du Frioul 25NM (15:00) It was a late start to my sailing week, as I had to wait for the Capitanerie to reopen following the usual extended French lunch break. With a planned 25 NM trip to Port du Frioul just off the coast from Marseille my girlfriend [...]
