Brawny Bay of Biscay

OK. So what’s all the fuss about?  I had been quite worried about the Bay of Biscay leg of the trip because I have heard the stories about how bad the weather can get there.  Also as you cross to reach England, it is about 3 – 4 days out in the ocean without site of land.  So on leaving Baiona, we did check the weather systems and the like and it actually looked like we would be ok for the crossing – nothing too severe, likely nothing worse than force 5 winds.  A bit of a relief for me although I think a little part of me was interested in seeing the adventure of really rough seas.  Besides, we had our trusty, capable, “awesome” skipper, George.  I’d put my life in  his hands anyday.

A VIDEO OF US LEAVING SPAIN BEHIND

Leaving Baiona, the sun was shining and the weather was grand.  With the wind at our backs, off we went.  We would still have sight of land for a little bit as we rounded the top of Spain.  And then it was goodbye land, hello seas, hello three days plus of routine watches three times a day.

I was not sure how it would be without sight of land for such a period.  I had never experienced it.  Jon asked me if I thought it would bother me, and I said no.  And I was right, it didn’t really.  It is a bit of a surreal experience though because your boat becomes your little island.  Perhaps if I was on the boat alone or maybe only with one other person, it would be a different experience, but with 5 of us, it was fine.  It also really helped that the guys were pretty funny and kept me laughing all of the time, even when they were picking on me, which seemed to be a bit of a routine behaviour for them.  But I guess when you are the only female, you are a bit of a target.  I got in my zingers too though.

So with fairly calm seas, we put up the sails and enjoyed the sun, knowing it would not last.  One thing I had not really had an opportunity to see yet on the trip, although they had been there, were dolphins.  Each time they had joined the boat, I had been sleeping and given that sleep is important when you are doing routine watches, David did not want to wake us up.  I so far had only enjoyed his videos of them and had only seen them from afar.

But I was not to be disappointed.  This video following, is when a grand group of dolphins accompanied us for awhile playing at the bow.  I cannot really do the reality justice as being there in real life and watching them is really irreplaceable.  But you can enjoy regardless.  After this however, the seas got rougher, the swells larger and the weather cooler.

A VIDEO OF DOLPHINS FROLICKING WITH THE BOAT

George made an interesting point about the dolphins however.  He noted that he had read some articles that said that when they appear to be frolicking with the boat and playing, they are not actually but instead are trying to move you out of their territory and their behaviour should be seen as defensive not playful.  I don’t know which it is, but they looked like they were having fun.  However with some of man’s behaviour to the sea and the horrible fishing practices and given the intelligence of dolphins, especially since they stand for harmony, I would not be surprised if they were really pissed!

The main thing you have to look for when you are doing your watch, are other boats.  Of course at night you can’t see much – only lights – and the ability to see them will depend on the visibility.  So you rely quite heavily on your radar and AIS systems and the monitor constantly pumping out your information.

In this video below, I have tried to give you an idea of the conditions, the experience of sailing, and also a little bit of the equipment we use to watch ourselves and others on the sea.  One morning during my 4 – 6 am watch, Jon and I were chatting away when he decided to go back and check the  navigation system.  And suddenly there on the screen were two large ships coming towards us on either side.  And it was still darkish and misty and we couldn’t see a thing.  We were the stand on vessel, so just had to maintain course.  But it is a little unnerving when you can only just sit there and watch these ‘phantom’ boats and wait in anticipation for them to alter course so as not to collide with you.  It is sort of a hurry-up and wait experience.  Do they see us? Will they change course? Of course, eventually the guy likely sleeping at the helm does get us on their screen and you see them alter their course to avoid collision.

It is a pretty cool piece of equipment because it gives you information on the boat, where they are heading, their size, their course, the closest point they will come to you if they maintain that course and the time until that point.  It is only a bit concerning when the piece of equipment keeps losing its AIS connection, as ours did, but that is where radar as back-up is handy.

VIDEO OF US DOING OUR WATCH – GIVING YOU A SENSE OF THE EXPERIENCE

One amazing experience we got to have on this crossing was a full moon.  Both the sunset and the moon were incredible.  Unfortunately the second night of the moon the weather had turned and the sky was cloudy, but for the first night the sun set in all its colourful glory, the moon shone brightly and the stars in the sky, especially my two favourite, the big dipper and the north star, glittered in all their glory.

Anyway, that’s all I will post about this for now.  The next post, we make the English Channel and head for land …! A welcome site after three plus days of ocean.