Cherbour – Alderney 24,7 nm
We have decided to leave Cherbourg and so we get up in the morning and prepare everything for our departure. This time, however, without any stress or getting up early, as we don’t want to leave until 4pm. Before that, everything is stowed away seaworthy and made ready to sail, and of course we also go shopping again.
Well, and then it rains again. The wind doesn’t pick up as predicted, the forecast changes again so that we think that an extra day in Cherbourg won’t do any harm. How demanding we have become! So everything stays the same, we pay another day’s mooring fees in Cherbourg (now at the super-affordable TO rate!) and hope that we can finally get underway tomorrow morning. Never ending story!
In the evening, Jens comes over for a beer after work. He also wants to set off tomorrow, but then head straight for L’Aberwrach. We are still dawdling and only want to go to Alderney. Then Guernsey, then Roscoff, L’Aberwrach and Camaret sur Mer. If the long-term weather forecast isn’t wrong, we would then hop across the Bay of Biscay from Camaret sur Mer in light winds. But please don’t pin us down to that!
After a day’s delay, we finally make it! We set sail from Cherbourg at 7 a.m. and head out to sea. The sun rises bright red behind us and the sea is calm. We set the genoa and set sail. Wonderful! We’ve wanted to do this for much longer. But now! The current takes us past Ca La Hague and fortunately the sea remains calm. Even with little wind, it swirls around us and La Ola is shifted back and forth. As the wind picks up, we start the engine again and arrive safely in Braye on Alderney at 1500 rpm. We decide to anchor and need a few attempts today before we get the anchor in well. A little later, we take the dinghy ashore and clear in by dropping a form in a designated mailbox on the Channel Islands. We also dutifully check in our cat Lucky, who is expressly not allowed to go ashore here. But he has no problem with that! Axel and I set off on foot to St. Anne. It goes straight up the mountain and ends in a pretty little village. There we stroll through the picturesque alleyways for a while before heading back downhill with breathtakingly beautiful views. As a reward for our hike, we stop off at the Braye Beach Hotel and treat ourselves to a nice lunch. This time Axel continues the fish & chips test series and is rewarded with a delicious meal. My club sandwich is also very tasty and both portions are more than big enough. Back on board, Axel tries to get used to the customs of the south and takes a long siesta. I retire to the on-board office, as I have a few appointments to get through today.
After the work is done, we enjoy the sun in the front cockpit and Axel actually dares to bathe. End of August! We have a quick chat with our neighbor from the catamaran Rosa in Vegesack and exchange travel plans. Meanwhile, the boats are happily turning in circles in the wind and the current, so that at some point we have to move from the front to the aft cockpit because otherwise there’s no sun.
Alderney – Guernsey 22,8 nm
The next morning starts calmly and without any hustle and bustle. The sun rises picturesquely behind the hill of Bibette Head and I enjoy the silence with my first coffee in the cockpit. At some point, Axel also manages to get out of his bunk and we enjoy a nice breakfast in the sunshine in the cockpit and a delicious breakfast egg. At some point, the anchor is raised and we motor south at a leisurely pace. First through the notorious channel The Swinge between Alderney and Burhoe, which is very calm today. Only at the southern tip of Alderney do individual whitecaps appear and the water bubbles a little. After half an hour of rocking, we are through and motoring through a sea like a silk sheet, which is occasionally laid into rough folds by an old swell. Apart from mighty seaweed islands, there is not much to see during the crossing and we are delighted as Sark, Herm and Guernsey come ever closer. We head for St. Peter Port and are not only welcomed by the harbour master, but also greeted with a gun salute from the castle. Although we are offered a berth in the sheltered Victoria Marina, we prefer to go to an outside berth on Swan Pier. We are moored at jetty 5 without a shore connection, which means we have to take the dinghy to get ashore. But we are so sure that Lucky the cat won’t escape ashore by some unfortunate chance. Guernsey is very strict when it comes to the presence of animals from the EU. There are severe penalties if they are smuggled in and, according to the immigration website, the animals are “destroyed”. Of course, we want to prevent this at all costs, even though the likelihood of our shy cat leaving the cockpit is very low. However, we are allowed ashore and drive the 50 m with the dinghy to the appropriate dinghy berth. We continue to the marina office, where we get rid of 78 pounds for one night. We then take a stroll through the pleasant town center. Too bad we don’t need anything right now! There are numerous watch and jewelry stores and expensive electronics are also on sale. And all tax-free. A visit from the mainland is definitely worthwhile for one or two people. Back on board, I do a bit of office work while Axel carries out small repairs and cleaning jobs. This is followed by chicken liver with sheep’s cheese and a lazy evening in the cockpit. In contrast to the peace and quiet on Alderney, the hum of cars and howling motorcycles accompany us through the evening on Guernsey.
St. Peter Port/Guernsey – Moulin Huet Bay/Guernsey 4,4 nm
The sun also wakes us up the next morning. Pancakes are served for breakfast in the cockpit today and plans are made for the day. What do we want to do with the rest of the day? A bus tour around Guernsey, as on our last visit? A ferry trip to Herm to walk around the island? Or anchor off the south coast of Guernsey? In view of the weather forecast, we decide on the third alternative. But first we want to fill up with diesel in Guernsey, which is tax-free here, as it is on Heligoland. As we can fill up with over 600 liters, this is already clearly noticeable. We fill up for 91 pence, the equivalent of about 1.08 euros. In Cherbourg we would have paid 1.79 euros per liter. So we saved almost 450 euros by stopping in Guernsey! After successfully filling our tanks and being seen off again with a gun salute from the castle, we take a leisurely trip south along the coast before turning into a small bay and dropping anchor in Moulin Huet Bay. The steep rocky coastline around us is impressive and we look at the sharp cliffs with great respect. Alongside us, three Norwegian yachts have discovered the bay for themselves, so we are not completely alone. But it doesn’t matter, because the bay is big enough. We’re enjoying the summery day, even though it’s fortunately not quite as hot as it is in Germany at the moment. Axel takes a siesta in the front cockpit, while I move my mobile office to the aft cockpit and simply work for a few hours today with a view of paradise. In the evening, we fire up the barbecue and enjoy chicken with lamb’s lettuce and quail’s egg. Meanwhile, the anchorage proves to be quite rolly. The monos next to us are being rocked around quite a bit, while we are still quite comfy and calm. As the evening progresses and the water recedes, the situation calms down again, but we are sure that it will become a little more turbulent again at high tide during the night. Meanwhile, Lucky discovers that there really is a world outside the cockpit. He ventures outside for the first time and watches the seagulls behind the boat with interest. However, he doesn’t have enough courage to go around the boat yet, but he will probably discover the front cockpit at some point!
Moulin Huet Bay/Guernsey – Roscoff 70,9 nm
At around 2 a.m., the bay becomes restless again. The current has capsized and the yachts are turning sideways to the wind again. It’s still bearable on La Ola, but we’re still awake at first. At some point, we fall asleep again, only to be woken up again shortly afterwards by the alarm clock. Pyjama start is the order of the day. A quick cup of coffee and a chocolate croissant and the anchor is up. We point the bow back towards the French mainland and motor into the morning. There’s a big old swell at sea, so unfortunately the little wind is once again not enough for us to sail, as the sails are flapping in every wave trough. Well, we have enough fuel on board… We set a direct course towards Roscoff in Brittany. The engine hum is interrupted today with a little variety. Dolphin show!!! Finally a few dolphins come to visit us and play around our bow. Finally we can use the dolphin seats properly. Very nice and more of them! After a few minutes, we go our separate ways again and hum along to the southwest. The wind remains rather weak, the swell tends to increase and at some point we also have to fight against the current. Instead, we pass the beautiful Les Sept Iles, rugged rocky islands that serve as a bird sanctuary. We also pass the pretty outdoor lighthouse Les Triagoz and the rocks around it probably helped one or two ships to a bitter fate before it was built. After a journey of over 10 hours, we finally reach the port of Roscoff. Axel has reserved a berth en route and the harbour master is already waiting for us. We are lucky and the marina is not busy at the moment, which, according to our harbor guide, can sometimes be a problem when mooring here. We can now moor La Ola perfectly and the harbour master doesn’t have to intervene with his dinghy. As the marina is about 15 minutes away from the actual town and there is practically nothing in the marina, we make do with a little baguette and cheese for dinner. What follows are the usual considerations about the weather and further route planning. The next stops are L’Aberwrach and Camaret sur Mer. After that we’ll have to see what the weather says. We’ll probably go straight from Camaret sur Mer across the Bay of Biscay to A Coruña. But we’ll have to think very carefully about whether that’s the right decision.
Roscoff – L‘Aberwrach 35,2 nm
Even though it’s the weekend, we get up at 7am. After a quick breakfast, we set off again. We have to wait a few minutes because the harbor exit is closed due to an incoming ferry, but then we’re allowed out to sea again. The exit is very bumpy as the wind is against the current and the old swell from yesterday is still running across. In the choppy conditions, we prefer not to take the narrow passage between the mainland and Ile de Batz, but rather sail around the outside of the island. After we turn to the southwest, we can sail more calmly, but the wind is still not strong enough to sail in the swell. However, we can set the genoa and make good progress with only one engine and low engine speeds. At Ile de Vierge, with its striking and tall lighthouse, we are visited by dolphins again and are treated to another show. Always beautiful and never boring! Finally we can turn into the Aber, take the genoa away and reach L’Aberwrach a little later. We had actually announced our arrival there, but unfortunately we couldn’t reach anyone in front of the marina by radio. The attempt to catch a mooring buoy on our own clearly fails, but fortunately Jens from the Marieke is ready and assigns us a berth on the outer jetty. At least we are secure for the time being and can clarify later whether we can stay there. After an arrival beer together, we decide to go out for dinner in the evening and hope that we can get a place somewhere without a reservation. We spend the rest of the afternoon cleaning, enjoying our hangovers and the obligatory trip to the marina office. Apparently we are allowed to stay at our outside berth and don’t have to move again. At around 6:30 p.m. we meet up with Jens and set off together. Along the main street, one restaurant and café follows the next, but we seem to be too early as they don’t open until 7pm. But we are lucky at the Vioben restaurant and can at least get in and reserve a table for 7pm. We pass the waiting time by continuing our tour of the town, visiting a public caricature exhibition in the park, which we unfortunately only understand half of, and are back at the restaurant on time at 7 pm. In the meantime, a queue has formed there and we were apparently lucky to get a seat at all. We are definitely lucky, because the food, drinks and service are excellent! We enjoy oysters and fish of the day (Axel), fillet of beef (Jens) and carpaccio con pulpo and fillet of beef with peanut sauce and Breton-style lobster (Brit) and leave the restaurant a few hours later, full and satisfied. We have a nightcap on board La Ola and the evening gets quite long. Lucky slowly but surely develops into a party cat, lets Jens pet him and keeps us company in the cockpit.
Sunday morning starts very, very quietly. Fog has settled heavily on the Aber and muffles all sounds. You can sleep in a little longer. We enjoy our Sunday breakfast in the cockpit and are once again glad of our conservatory. Even though it’s much cooler today than we would like. But autumn is also fast approaching in France and we hope that we will soon be able to escape it and that summer temperatures will be waiting for us again in Spain. As the foggy morning doesn’t tempt us to go on an excursion, we tinker a little with the boat again. I would like to have a socket in the cockpit so that I don’t always have to run an extension cable to work in the conservatory. The existing 12-volt socket also needs to be replaced. Not an easy task, as various panels have to be removed and of course nothing is easily accessible. In the end, we do find a possibility for the socket, but unfortunately, contrary to our memory, we no longer have a suitable socket on board. Without further ado, we postpone the project and take a walk through the town instead. The good impression from yesterday is confirmed, but the view is very limited due to the fog. What a shame! After a short stop at the Marieke, we head to the Creperie, where we have a delicious galette with cheese, ham and egg for lunch. Back on board, work continues, office work and laundry, and the day is over again. In the evening, the fog finally lifts and we are joined by Alma and Miro from the sailing yacht Bob. They are moored at our jetty and are unfortunately having a few problems with their stuffing box, but are not discouraged on their way south. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the problems can be resolved quickly and permanently and that we can enjoy a few nice evenings together on the way south.
The next morning starts rainy and gray. Just as well it’s Monday and I want to work anyway! So I sit in my little on-board office and work away while Axel spends the day lazing around in the cockpit. So lazy that he doesn’t even think about what to have for dinner. So we head ashore after work and try to get a seat in one of the many restaurants. Unfortunately, half of them are closed on Mondays and the other half are fully booked! It’s just as well that the creperie from yesterday still has a place for us and delicious mussels on offer. So we enjoy moules frites again and return on board feeling well-fed. We spend the rest of the evening in the cockpit thinking about what to do next. In the end, we decide to sail to Brest the next morning. The wind is supposed to be rather light, which is fine with us in view of the passage through the Chenal du Four. Similar to the Alderney Race, there are problems there if the wind is too strong and the current is running against us. No problem at all, given the weather forecast and the tide is also right.
L‘Aberwrach – Brest 41,5 nm
The next morning, the alarm clock rings just before seven. A quick wash and a cup of coffee and we’re ready to go. However, it’s drizzling and the weather doesn’t look very promising. Mmmh! Nevertheless, we want to continue and set sail from L’Aberwrach at 8 o’clock. Jens waves us goodbye from the jetty (I think he set himself an alarm clock especially to do this! Thank you so much, dear Jens!!!) and off we go out of the beautiful Aber. The drizzle intensifies into a shower and with every meter out of the Aber, the sea becomes more turbulent. Well, we think, swell against current can get stronger. But when we finally reach the open sea, we start to doubt the weather forecast. There is an old swell, overlaid by cross-running waves that cannot really be justified by the current wind. As a result, we have a fairly steep 3-4 m wave through which we have to struggle against the wind. It rattles and rattles and for the first time on our trip things actually fly around! Lucky doesn’t think it’s much fun either and prefers to sit in his litter box as a precaution. Better safe than sorry! While the monohulls next to us turn south at some point, we don’t dare and continue west. In these conditions, the passage through the Chenal du Four doesn’t seem safe enough for us, so we prefer to sail around the outside of the Ile d’Oussant. Surprisingly, the wave pattern suddenly and unexpectedly subsides! We are sailing in deeper water and we assume that the swell has simply built up and intensified in combination with the current in shallower water near the coast. In these conditions, we dare to turn off and are suddenly sailing very comfortably and fast. We set the genoa and motor-sailed past numerous rocks. Once we had passed the Chenal du Four, it became sunny and warm. Wonderful! We set our new Code Zero sail for the first time and cruise comfortably towards Brest. It’s amazing how much the sailing weather can change from terrible to super nice within a few hours and nautical miles! We finally reach the Marina du Chateau and find a nice spot on the guest jetty. We have now arrived in the Bay of Biscay and want to set off for Spain from here. Contrary to our original plan, we won’t be sailing the Bay of Biscay, so we won’t be visiting Bilbao, Santander and Gijon, but sailing directly to A Coruña and the Rias. Autumn is breathing down our necks and we finally want to get into the warmth. In contrast to the current temperatures in Germany, it is already quite chilly and uncomfortable here. We also want to enjoy a little more of the Galician coast and the beautiful Rias despite being moored in Portugal. In the evening, we finally have something delicious from the galley again. We grill langoustines and Axel prepares his delicious aioli. Add a baguette and a glass of champagne and it’s perfect!
