Encore En France

Having spent several days in Cadaques, last Sunday we suddenly decided to move.  There were strong southerly winds forecast and we decided to go back to Cala Culip.   Cala Culip is the far side of Caba Creus and being north-facing is a good option in a southerly.  However, when we got there it was very crowded so we continued on round the coast to the Golfo de Ravener.  This turned out to be lovely.  We went into the first cala (bay) where there were a couple of other yachts and any number of small motor boats there just for the day.  We took long lines ashore and also put out the kedge to prevent us from swinging as there was not much room and we wanted to be well tucked up. 

“Rampage” in Cala Prona, Golfo de Ravener

By nightfall there were just the three yachts left – ourselves, a German boat and a French one and the peace and beauty were heavenly.   A few boats joined us again the next day but it was much less crowded, presumably because it was no longer the weekend and the following two nights we had the anchorage to ourselves overnight.  The whole of the Golfo de Ravener is very attractive; it is a large bay with lots of smaller bays and inlets all round, some with a little pebbly beaches.  On Tuesday we took the dinghy and went exploring a bit and decided there were lots of different places to anchor – all of them very beautiful.  The whole bay is surrounded by steep sided cliffs so the anchorages are mostly relatively deep (i.e. 15m or more) but the water is beautifully clean and clear and the snorkeling was excellent.  Not only was the underwater topography interesting and fun to explore, but there was lots of sea life – coral and so many varieties of fish – I discovered a very fine octopus on one of my swims.  On Monday we spotted divers in the water and having missed out on going for an organized dive in Cadaques because of our hasty departure, we suddenly decided to have a dive here. 

Cruising life doesn’t get much better than this.

This is the first time we have dived from “Rampage” other than to clean the hull of growth from time to time.  There are various reasons for this: 1) generally speaking places where it is good to anchor are not interesting dive sites, 2) it is sensible to dive as a pair and have someone else to provide surface cover and 3) we are always a bit wary of local rules and regulations and not wanting to fall foul of the authorities.  However, we decided to take a chance and had a really lovely dive in very benign conditions – flat calm water, not terribly deep, very good visibility and plenty to see.  I particularly loved it, not having dived since we were in Santa Ponsa, Majorca over two years ago.  D is a bit more jaded but he has probably made 800-900 to my 400 and besides, he really prefers wrecks to pretty plant and fish life.  Anyway, suffice to say, we had a lovely time there and left reluctantly on Wednesday only because we were out of fresh food and almost out of drinking water. 

We decided to head back to Port Vendres for a number of reasons, not least that we knew of a laundry facility there and had been unable to find one in Cadaques.  The trip north was notable because we encountered fog!  This was the first time we have had fog since we sailed down the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal three years ago and was a bit of a surprise.  The radar was once more called upon to earn its keep and we tracked other vessels on the screen until they suddenly emerged just a few hundred metres away.  Some of the very small boats used by local fishermen have no radar reflectors so we both kept a careful watch but arrived safely without incident. 

Surrounded by fog.

We thought we’d sit and have a beer on arrival while the water tanks filled and it was only after this that we found we had a small swimming pool in the forward bilges under our bed!  Those of you who are regular followers of this blog will know that this is not the first occasion – indeed the matter is becoming thoroughly tedious now.  We baled and sponged all the water out and then took ourselves off for a belated lunch at a little tapas restaurant across the road.  We had decided to spend 2 nights in Port Vendres, one day of admin and then have a day trip out somewhere.  Now however, it was clear we would need another day in order to try and sort our latest water leakage problem.

Thursday was a busy day.  While D pulled our bed apart and removed everything from the storage locker beneath in order to access the forward water tank, I did numerous trips up and down the hill to SuperU with laundry, shopping and several packs of drinking water.  I also attempted to have our dive cylinders refilled but having stumped round to the far side of the harbour basin with them strapped to the trolley I found that regulations regarding the safety testing of said cylinders varies from country to country.  In UK they must be tested every 2 ½ years, in Spain every 3 but here in France it is every 2.  Since ours were last done in March 2010, as far as the French are concerned they are out of test and could not be refilled.  Why has Brussels failed to address this important topic for goodness sake and issue an EU Directive on the matter?  D meanwhile and walked a considerable distance to an out-of-town bricolage to buy a glue gun.  He had found that the two splits in the top of the water tank which he had previously repaired had both reopened so this is his next idea (along with using the blow torch to ‘weld’ the glue to the tank – seems to have worked but it’s not pretty and only time will tell.)

By this time we were very hot and tired and decided to stop for a rest and some belated lunch but we were then hailed by an English couple from the quayside anxious to discuss the liveaboard lifestyle as they hope to do much the same in a few years’ time.  We invited them aboard for a drink and spent the next hour or so, discussing various considerations, thoughts and pitfalls before embarking on the project.  The boat could not have been more chaotic and I was rather embarrassed but I suppose it was a good thing to see the not-so-glamorous side of liveaboard life and they assured us that we had not put them off at all.  We wish Greta and Jon all the very best as and when they do set sail – it was good to meet you both.

 

Le Train Jaune

 

On one of my trips up the hill I had continued on to the railway station to find out about possible destinations for our day out.  Later that evening we decided we would take a trip on Le Petit Train Jaune which wends its way up into the Pyrenees.  This entailed what for us was a very early start and it was still dark as we walked up to the station yesterday.  The ticket office was closed but in due course the train to Perpignan arrived on schedule and we climbed aboard.  On arrival at Perpignan we found that the ticket office there was also still shut and by the time we had sorted out the automatic ticket machine we had an hour to wait before the next leg of the trip to Villefranche so we went and found a café and coffee and croissant for breakfast.

Along the route

We had planned to catch the 10:00 departure of Le Train Jaune from Villefranche but found that when we arrived that lots of other people had had the same idea and that train was fully booked; we would have to wait for the next.  It seems that they do not start selling tickets for one train until the departure of the previous one so we resigned ourselves to joining the queue and waiting patiently.  However, just before 10:00 a man suddenly announced that there were 10 seats available on the 10:00 train and we were delighted to get two of them.  

Fabulous scenery

The trip was great fun and the scenery was spectacular.  The train winds its way through incredibly narrow mountain gorges, over viaducts and bridges and through numerous tunnels, gradually climbing as it goes.  We took loads of photographs, most of which are not very good and eventually we emerged above the tree line to the high pastures and ski slopes of the Pyrenees. 

The church and auberge of Odeill

We had been advised to go as far as Font Romeu , just over halfway since the full trip is 3 ½ hours each way.  I’d assumed (always foolish) that the town of Font Romeu would be right by the station but we quickly learned that it was an hour’s walk away up hill.  It was midday by this time and very hot so we were relieved to discover the little village of Odeill just 15 minutes walk away where there was a splendid auberge that provided a very good lunch.  (The artichoke tart was particularly delicious!)  Afterwards we visited the village church originally built in about 1050 and photographed the extraordinary-looking solar furnace which is the main claim to fame of Font Romeu, before making our way back to the station for the return trip.  The train back was very crowded and extremely hot.  I wished very much we had elected to ride in the open carriage which, with hindsight, would have been much cooler but we survived and had a restorative drink in a little café in Villefranche before continuing our journey back to Port Vendres.  We were back here by just after 20:00, in time to catch the harbour office before it closed for the evening where we asked to stay for the coming weekend, as once again, strong winds are forecast – and possibly rain.  Being at anchor would not have been impossible but it seems to make sense to stay put.  Tomorrow we plan to go to Collioure so there may just be some photos of that very pretty little place after all, when we publish the next blog.

The solar furnace of Font Romeu

Hola hombres (Spanish for hello mates)

Polly kidnapped the dinghy and went for quite a long row but found it did not really match the handling characteristics of a well-found Cornish pilot gig!

The last blog left you breathless with the anticipation of Polly and Tommy’s day out aboard “Rampage”.  They joined us the day after their second wedding anniversary and we set off round Cap Bear for the day.  There was no wind as we left Port Vendres, so we were reduced to the iron mainsail to travel the couple of miles to a lovely quiet anchorage that we’d spotted on our walk the day before.  Did I say quiet?  If you recall, we’d gone for a walk in the aftermath of a nasty little set of thunderstorms.  This meant that no one had bothered to go out for the day, so the lovely (and large) anchorage had a sum total of 4 boats in it.  When we got there with Polly and Tommy it was as if the D Day landing fleet had gathered there.  You could practically walk from one side to the other on anchored boats packed with excited French folks.

Tommy shows off his turtle tatoo to best effect!

 

Ah well, at least the water was warm and we had a lovely time splashing about the boat.  Polly and Tommy took the dinghy into the beach to investigate before we decided that it was time to return to Port Vendres.  Luckily, the wind had come up (as it often does in the afternoon) and we put the sails up before we hauled the anchor and sailed all the way back into port.  The port authorities, in the shape of a helpful little man, guided us into a very easy to access berth near the entrance to the basin, where we gave an almost perfect demonstration of how to do reverse parking in “Rampage”.

 

That evening we went into Collioure with the younger generation and visited the flat where they were staying.  We took the Cobb barbeque with us and had lovely relaxing time with them before Polly ran us back to the boat.  J had hoped to take some pictures of Collioure but the car parks were all jam packed so we gave up in the end.  It was lovely to see Polly and Tommy and it gave us the chance to talk through all sorts of family bits and pieces.

 

The following day was departure day.  Having looked at the ‘Bloc Marine’ (French equivalent to Reeds Almanac and very helpfully published in French and English) we had come to the conclusion that going further into France wasn’t worth it, as the next 100 miles or so of coast is all low lying with only marinas to stay in.  To add to that, most of the marinas on this coast are part and parcel of large tourist developments as

The main bay at Cadaques

 

The 20 mile hop went quickly under the motor, as there was no wind at all to ruffle the sea.  We anchored in much the same place as we’d stayed with Maggie and Colin and decided to stay here for a few days to just take things easy after what has been a fairly hectic couple of months.  Cadaques is a very attractive little town but very crowded at the moment, particularly at weekends.  The anchorage is off to one side of the main bay behind a rocky spit of land favoured by the local nudists – sorry no pics available!  Dali had a summer residence in the next town of Lligat to which we plan to walk this evening.  Frankly it is too hot to do much by day other than swim and snooze and read books.  The various bits of shade tent etcetera that we made last winter are certainly proving their worth.

 

Having moved out of marinas and back to sea, once again weather watching becomes something of an obsession, especially when we are not in a completely protected anchorage.  Cadaques is open to the south east, so we need to an eye out for prolonged winds from that direction as the anchorage will become uncomfortable if that happens.  As it is, what we had yesterday was strong winds from the north west, which had me sitting up half the night, not so much worried about our anchor as those of folks anchored around us, especially one very large motor boat anchored just up wind of us.  In the event, nothing untoward happened and eventually I got some sleep (and the excuse for a good siesta today!).  We now have light winds before we expect southerlies at about force 4 – 5 in a day or so.

 

Part of the water-front at Cadaques

Our plans at the moment?  Well, we don’t have any really except to get back to Badalona before Susie arrives in early September.  We’ll keep you up to date with things as they go. 

Mandatory pic of the skipper in a bar (nursing his measly daily beer allowance – according to him!)

 

2 days later… since writing the above, we have been unable to get it published due to the aforementioned southerly winds.  Yesterday morning the local police came round the anchorage warning all the boats that strong winds were expected and pointing out (in case we had failed to appreciate the fact,) that we were on a lee shore (ie liable to be pushed towards the shore, should our anchor fail to hold.)  We have much faith in our new anchor but after a trip ashore for bread and milk and to dump the rubbish, we had a quick conference and decided that discretion was the better part of valour – in other words we would bug out!

 

We raised anchor almost immediately as the winds were due within the next hour or so and headed north.  We hoped to round the headland and find refuge in Port Lligat which is an excellent sheltered anchorage.  However, on arrival we discovered that the entire bay is given over to fixed mooring buoys.  This is increasingly our experience this summer in Spain and is becoming frustrating.  It makes us even more inclined to head back towards Greece next year, but I digress.  We were prepared to pay for a mooring buoy for the night but were informed by two chaps in a RIB that there was no space available.  As we turned to leave, as if by magic they suddenly found room for 25m stinkpot – irritating!

                                                         

Cala de Culip, looking west

                         

Anyway, we continued north; the next few anchorages were all exposed to the south so we headed back round Cabo Creus and into the very protected bay of Cala de Culip where we are currently sitting out the 20 -25 knot winds.  The anchorage is surrounded on 3 sides by high cliffs so there are no facilities and we are unable to pick up an internet signal, hence we cannot yet publish this.  The winds are expected to drop this evening and we then hope to have a 2 – 3 hour opportunity to beetle back to Cadaques before the wind swings round to the north.  As this bay is exposed to the north, we will need to escape while we can.  In the meantime, we are much entertained by the anchoring adventures of other craft which are puzzling to say the least.  A French charter boat yesterday attempted to anchor with just 18m of chain and a bit of additional rope.  The depth here is approximately 15m metres and they were taken aback when we told them we had 45m of chain out and that possibly they needed to rethink…….  I am also very puzzled by those people who start to drop their anchor chain and continue to move forward at a rate of knots.  We by no means claim to get everything right all the time as our adventures on this blog will testify but this is curious by any standards. 

The anchorage at Cadaques, taken at dusk. It is separated from the main bay by the rocky outcrop seen to the left of the photo (generally populated by nudists!)

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Duncan raises the French courtesy flag

That’s French you know for ‘hello friends’.  I can almost hear the sharp intake of breath from many of our readers as you realise that this blog comes to you from France.  It had to happen in the end and we entered French waters 3 days ago, bringing Maggie and Colin to Port Vendres so that they could carry on with the second half of their holiday and we could meet up with Polly and Tommy who are staying just north of here.  Now, to fill you in on the detail of how we got here.

 

When we last posted a blog, we were in Pollenca, having made our way there from Portocolom.  On 21 July, whilst we were there at anchor, we had some fairly high winds from the north which caused us to drag our anchor.   It took a couple of goes to get the thing to set again but eventually both the lower wind speed and our efforts got the thing to hold properly.  This latest incident has finally destroyed what little faith I had in the CQR anchor so we resolved to buy a new one of more modern design (the CQR apparently dates back to the 1930s).  The one I craved is a New Zealand design called a Rocna but it is expensive and not easy to come by.

The new rocna anchor

 

Having trawled through the local chandleries it became obvious that there were no suitable anchors in Pollenca, so on 25 July I dragged myself out of bed early and caught the bus into Palma along with our trusty folding trolley to see what could be found.  I hiked along the sea front for miles, visiting various chandleries and in the furthest one from the bus station found a 20kg Rocna.  Result!  Then the agony of hauling the thing back through the streets of Palma on the trolley to the bus station.  I was so knackered by the process, I had to stop and have a whopper at Burger King….

 

Changing over the anchor went well, with no damage to self or boat and we re-anchored in pretty much the same position as we had been in before the wind arrived.  The new anchor set first time and in a very positive way, digging itself into the mud, as opposed to the half hearted lopsided set that the CQR often adopted.  We have not had any high winds since but the variable winds in Pollenca often popped the CQR out in a moderate blow – nothing seems to upset the Rocna.

 

The new anchor in situ.

 

As if to celebrate the solving of this particular problem, J promptly went down a nasty bug.  She’d been feeling below par for a few days but suddenly developed a temperature in excess of 40c and so was sent to bed.  She stayed there for the next 4 days feeling proper poorly; high temperature, headache and listless.  I was on the point of taking the boat into the adjacent marina and summoning the medics when she began to improve and by Sunday morning she was feeling quite a lot better. 

Maggie sets out the minimal dinghy for the start of their trip aboard “Rampage”

 

It was a good job she was, as Maggie and Colin, our next visitors, arrived that afternoon.  They used public transport to make their way from Palma airport and we met them on the quayside.  Unfortunately, the wind had got up a bit and the trip out to “Rampage” was a bit on the damp side.  With the smaller dinghy, I had to do 3 trips; one each for the passengers and one for their baggage.  They were to stay with us for a week and then go on camping in southern France for a week, so they had all their camping gear with them, hence the very large rucksacks.

 

Maggie and Colin aboard “Rampage”

 

As they had had a very early start to their day, Maggie and Colin had a siesta (as did I) whilst J made up for sleeping for most of the previous 4 days by sitting in the cockpit, reading.  She was hailed by a bloke in a dinghy who turned out to be Patrick from the catamaran “Shecat”, who had spent the winter with us in Messilonghi.  J and I left the others snoozing whilst we went across to join Sheila and Patrick for a drink or two.  On returning to “Rampage”, I made my version of paella for supper and peered at the weather files before deciding we could safely set off the mainland the following day.

 

Sunrise on the passage from Pollenca, Majorca to Badalona on the Spanish mainland.

 

The following day we shopped in the morning, filled up with water and in the early afternoon set off for Badalona, a marina just to the north of Barcelona.  It is just over 100 miles and we had a great sail out of Pollenca bay before having to motor the rest of the trip as the wind disappeared in the early evening.  We arrived just before midday and after lunch we all took a siesta to recover from the long night watches – one of which was taken by Colin, who has done a fair bit of sailing before.  It was great to have someone on board who knew what to do and could join in with the running of the boat.

 

Colin at the helm.

 

Badalona is not a bad marina if a bit soul-less and isolated from the town.  We walked into the centre of town looking for a supermarket and finally found one then faced the long walk back with the shopping but were obliged to stop for a drink en route at one of the many beach bars as Mags was having problems with the ground which just wouldn’t stay still for her!  We’d promised ourselves a meal out but although there are a number of restaurants and bars round the marina, most of the turned out not to be functioning so we wandered back along the beach and eventually found a tapas bar where we managed to get something to eat.  As we walked back, we spotted a large supermarket on the other side of the railway line about 100 metres from the entrance to the marina….  Ah well, at least we know it’s there for next time.

 

“Rampage” in Badalona marina – note shade tent, wind scope on front hatch and additional shade panels on bimini – it was HOT!

 

The following day the wind was from the south and so we headed north aiming for the port of Blanes about 20 miles up the coast.  We had a good day sailing but when we got to the port we found that there was no space for us in the marina, so we carried on up the coast, looking at the various anchorages mentioned in the pilot book.  Some were untenable with the waves the wind had kicked off, whilst others were bung full of permanent moorings but eventually we found a nice little place, tucked in behind a little spur of rock.  There were a number of other boats there but most had gone by the time dusk fell leaving us to share the anchorage with a single Dutch yacht.  Maggie and Colin were delighted with the idea of swimming off the back of the boat in the beautiful, clear water of a remote little anchorage without any signs of habitation anywhere; they also had a happy time discussing the geology of the bay, both having studied geology at university.

 

Our first anchorage on the mainland: Cala de Pentiner

 

By the next morning, the wind had swung round to the north and was building nicely, so once again we got a good day’s sailing, covering 40 miles through the water to make 20 miles up the coast.  Once again, we found the anchorages mentioned in the book to have been, for the most part, filled with permanent moorings.  Eventually we were able to anchor off the beach in a cala sheltered from the north wind.  Unfortunately, the swell worked its way into the cala and gave us a fairly   uncomfortable night, as what little wind got down to sea level held us across the direction of the swell.

 

Waterbabies!

 

Our next destination was Cadeques, a delightful deep cala just south of Cap Creus.  The town is next to Port Llobregat, where Dali spent much of his time.  I was worried that the cala would once again turn out to be crowded with moorings and that we would not be able to anchor there.  But first we had to get there!  The wind was from the north again and as we tacked away from our anchorage, we were not making much ground to the north.  I was on the point of suggesting we spent the night in l’Estartit when the wind started to shift to the east and suddenly we were making ground fast.  Yet another great day’s sailing followed and we sailed right into the cala at Cadeques, dropping the sails only as we entered.  Although there are lots of moorings, most of them labelled ‘For Rent’ we found an area off one of the little coves where we could drop the hook.  Maggie and Colin swam ashore to look for a geo cache in the vicinity whilst I took 3 days worth of rubbish ashore for disposal (why do I get all the good jobs?).

 

The anchorage at Cadaques

 

The last stage of the trip was from Cadeques to Port Vendres in France.  Just for a change, there was no wind worth waving a sail at so we motored all the way there, arriving in the early afternoon.  In contrast to many places, the port answered our radio call and instructed us to proceed to the second basin.  The port is quite tight, with not much room to manoeuvre into the berths.  I half hoped that we would get one of the finger berths facing us as we entered but no, we were directed into a berth on the quayside.  I wanted to do the simple thing and go in bow first but that was vetoed by the mate so I had a tricky job getting “Rampage” to behave herself and squeeze into the allocated berth, (which he did with consummate skill, impressing not only Maggie and Colin but also the marinero!  J)

 

Port Vendres is a nice little port, essentially a fishing harbour now mostly given over to the marina, although there are still fishing boats operating out of here.  The port provides free wifi, which is how we are able to post this from France without the hassle of getting hold of a dongle. 

 

Port Vendres. “Rampage” is to the left as you look at the picture, again with lots of shade protection.

 

After booking in, J and Maggie found the laundry which turned out to be a couple of automatic washing machines in a kind of bus shelter affair next to the supermarket fuel station.  We have the impression they have not been there long as a member of staff at SuperU was very excited and keen to show them where it was, and also the dryer has yet to be installed.  As a result “Rampage” was once again the object of curiosity, hung about with copious amounts of washing and generally lowering the tone of the neighbourhood!

 

Maggie and Colin left us on Sunday 5 August after we helped them move their enormously heavy rucksacks to the railway station.  That evening Polly and Tommy came over from Collioure where they are staying in Tommy’s Dad’s flat.  They took us back over to Collioure for dinner.  Although Port Vendres is a nice enough place, Collioure has it knocked into a cocked hat.  It is a delightful little town huddled round the fortress which protects the little harbour; we can’t fit in there as they can only take boats up to 6.5m long.  There are some mooring buoys but looking at the way boats were rolling, I think we’ll stick with the comfortable if marginally less picturesque Port Vendres.

 

Walking to Cape Bear

 

Yesterday, after a stormy night and morning, J and I dug out our walking boots and hiked round Cap Bear, just to the south of the town.  We had a lovely walk but were well tired afterwards and had to have a nap before facing the rigours of cooking supper.

 

Today has been dedicated to doing some bits of maintenance and writing this blog.  We plan on taking Polly and Tommy sailing tomorrow before we start making a slow progress back south to meet up with my sister Susie in mid September in Barcelona, (‘though we may venture a bit further into France first! J)