Biscay Passage
14 July 2008 | 45 22'N:007 47'W
Wind Southeast 6kt, visibility good, 1027, rising slowly
On Saturday, Viente enjoyed a fine sail on passage Guernsey - Ushant; beautiful day with excellent visibility, just laying the course with a 13kt NW wind. As forecast, at midnight the wind faded approaching Ushant so we motorsailed through the Passage du Fromveur - which has a reputation for rough seas. We entered the channel at slack water (with a very weak neap tide, coefficient only 37%); the 5 mile passage started in smooth seas, then at SW end we suddenly had 4 kts of current with us - immediately the seas became rough with Solent type "square" waves - happily short lived!
Early Sunday morning saw good wind for a glorious sail into Biscay; wind fading again after six hours; since when we have been motorsailing in a very quiet Bay of Biscay - guess I must not complain about that! Spirits were raised in the evening when a large squadron of dolphins raced in, leaping clear of the water, to play alongside Viente; they must be God's happiest, fun loving creatures and a tonic for the lone sailor.
Just now whilst having brunch in the cockpit, a HUGE whale surfaced 50m off the starboard side on a parallel course,; perhaps he smelled the bacon? Nice to meet him, but as he looked much the same size as the boat I'm glad he did not stay!
Thanks to my dear wife I dine well; sure I could sail on for months and not go hungry. Thanks also to the family for the emails, all very welcome. Unfortunately radio propagation is the worst I have experienced - 'sunspots' (don't ask); so sending / recieving emails and downloading weather via SSB is difficult. Please make any attachments small.
Otherwise, alls well on board.