Hamble to Cannes
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PROVING THAT SIZE DOES NOT MATTER... Hamble to Cannes in a "Christina"ACROSS THE BAY OF BISCAY
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This boat, No. 121, was fitted with a General Motors 4/53 diesel engine of 120 H.P., with a 1.5:1 reduction gear; she is a 25’ high speed cruiser, having a hot moulded mahogany plywood hull and cabin accommodation for two people. Normal fuel tank capacity is 60 gallons. |
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OBJECTS OF THE TRIP GENERAL EQUIPMENT CARRIED |
 Follow Christina's journey on |
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THE VOYAGE We had only launched "Christina" No. 121 on the Friday prior to starting and she was a standard boat in every way with the exception of the extra fuel and radio equipment. Owing to the usual delays with British Railways the radio which had been sent by passenger train from Scotland, had not arrived, so our departure from Hamble was made with a jury set in the hopes that it would be possible to get the new set to Falmouth before our final departure. This was just made possible by bringing it down by car on Monday and Allan Phillips, my companion and navigator/wireless operator, changed over the sets on Monday night as we lay in the Helford river where we had an excellent dinner at the Ferry Boat Inn. All was ready on Tuesday May 10th and we departed very early in the morning with the intention of attempting the direct crossing, but the weather forecast was not ideal and, after we had been going about 4 hours, the wind, was up to force 5 and freshening. Under the circumstances we decided to go inside Ushant and put into Brest. By the time we were in sight of the French coast there was a strong N.E. wind force 5/6 setting up a big sea with an east going tide. The following seas were most impressive and, at times, you could not believe that "Christina" could lift in time to avoid being pooped. But every time up she came and away we went with absolutely no tendency to broach. After the first few times our confidence was restored and it was a most exhilarating ride; in spite of the adverse weather, we maintained an average speed of 16.4 knots for the 135 miles. In Brest we found a good berth and there was one other yacht waiting to make the passage across. We refuelled and checked on the weather and found the forecast bad, so we settled down to make the best of a bad job and await an improvement. We stayed at the Merchant Navy hotel on the quay which was very clean and most convenient as it was only a few yards from the boat. By Thursday May 12th the weather had improved and we decided to have a go, but after we had been out for 4 hours with a big head sea, and only making about 14 knots, we heard the weather forecast which was very bad, and decided to turn back. We arrived in the Brest Channel just before dark and found a very big short sea, with the tide running out hard against the wind; in fact the sea looked most frightening, and we saw a big French fishing boat coming out and making very heavy weather. But once again "Christina" showed her amazing ability to run with a big sea and the buoyancy, given by her big chine beam, made it possible for her to run with these very steep and short seas, and only once did she take any water over the fore deck. We arrived back in Brest feeling very crestfallen, but as the wind freshened through the night, we realized that we had done the right thing and were happy to be back in port. We refueled and prepared to wait until there was a reasonable forecast, with hopes of continued good weather for 48 hours, and on Saturday the picture began to look hopeful; we made plans to leave on Sunday morning at 7:30. On-Saturday evening the 74—ton yacht "Pamara" came in and we had a talk with the owner who told us he was just going to stop for dinner and carried on bound for Vigo. This was useful to us as we calculated that, if we departed early in the morning, we would be in radio contact with her by nightfall on Sunday, and we made arrangements with them to listen for us. We departed as planned on Sunday May 15th at 07:00 hours; the weather was fine and the sea calm. We carried a good tide clear of Brest and at last we were on our way for the long hop of our trip across the Bay of Biscay. We ran the engine at 2500 rpm, which gave us 15 knots under full load conditions, and we had fuel to do just on 400 miles at this speed. All through the day the weather was perfect and the swell was dropping away to nothing. We were more or less off the main route and we saw hardly any other ships. 
We were having some difficulty with our radio, as there was interference from the generator that we could not eliminate, and we found it almost impossible to work Consul. In order to use the R/T we had to shut the engine down to about 500 rpm, which was a great nuisance, so we decided to run on dead reckoning using the automatic pilot, which was steering a beautiful course. We kept going, with the speed slowly increasing as we used up our fuel, and at about 17:00 hours we started to try and contact "Pamara " and by 19:00 hours we were within radio range and had established contact. The weather remained perfect and by Sunday night fall there was no wind and were making good time with our engine r.p.m. up to 2600. The moon came up and we kept going full speed through the night across the Bay until about 03:00 hours when we were given a fix by "Pamara"Pamara. Her owner very kindly said he would steam towards us with a view to establishing visual contact, which he did, and just before dawn we met, and he gave us a position of 140 miles from Coruna. We were right on our track line; we waited with "Pamara" till daylight and then set course at full speed for Coruna. By now we were down to our main tanks and our speed was coming up to about 17/18 knots. In the morning there was bad visibility and we were within about two miles of the land before we saw anything; but we made landfall only three miles to the East of Coruna, and we were in the harbour in time to have lunch on Monday at the Yacht Club. We were glad to step ashore but it had been a wonderful twenty-two hour trip across the Bay and, other than the interference with the radio, completely trouble free. We decided to refuel and stay the evening at Coruna, then depart in the early hours of the morning. We set out again at 07:45 on Wednesday and passed Finisterre with a freshening wind and a falling glass, but were unable to get any reliable radio forecast. Our plan was to got as far down the coast as possible but, after two hours, the wind was heading us and increasing all the time, gusting to force 6/7. We were forced to reduce speed to ten knots and, at times, we had to ease right down to ride over the big waves. We now had about 35 miles to go to Vigo and felt that, at all costs, we would try and make it rather than turn back and run to Coruna again. All along the coast there were rocks and the whole thing looked very black, but from time to time, we came up with fishing boats riding out the weather very happily, which gave one confidence. At the time when the weather seemed to be at its worst I was glad to see well ahead and right on our course a boat pushing head-to-sea, in the same direction as us, with spray flying in all directions; it was not until we were nearly up with her that we identified her as a large rock sticking right up in our track! After that we pushed out to sea for half an hour and felt safer to be further off this very inhospitable coast. We then settled down to a hard wet slog, head-to-sea, and the wind increased to force 6/7. Although we got very wet, "Christina" behaved wonderfully and took only spray over; but it took us 4 hours to cover this 35 miles to Vigo and we were glad to get under the lee of the island and into the river, on Tuesday evening, after nine hard hours at sea. We were made very welcome by the Yacht Club and there was an American sailing yacht "Rolling Stone" of about 40 tons lying there; she had had a very rough trip from Falmouth during the time that we had been in Brest. 
One of our difficulties from now on was to get any sort of accurate weather forecast. The Yacht Club produced something that told of winds in all directions but the word "moderating" appeared and we felt that the only thing was to press on, and go and look. So we decided first to have dinner ashore and send telegrams. I, in my innocence, thought I would telephone home; after two hours wrestling I sent a telegram telling home not to expect any further telephone messages, and that they would be lucky to get even a telegram in future We had a very jolly dinner with some of the people from "Rolling Stone " and got under way at about 04:00 on Wednesday May 18th. The wind appeared to have moderated and we were soon making good speed down the coast, but as the morning progressed, so the wind increased. Fortunately it was on the beam and we were able to keep at full throttle until about 11 o’clock when we were starting to get very wet and the wind was increasing all the time, rising to force 5/6. Having had about eight hours of this, we started to think about making port and, as we were now off Leixoes, we decided to go in. There was a very big swell running and from where we were the entrance looked frightening, to say the least of it, but luckily there was a tug with a large lighter entering and we were able to watch his entrance and then follow. We came in on the top of the swell and we were getting up to 2800 r.p.m. and surfing in. When you looked back it was a fine sight to see these great rollers rushing up and we were carried on these waves right to the entrance. Suddenly we got protection from the old destroyed outer breakwater; I believe several boats have tried to approach across this partly submerged wall, with disastrous results. Once inside we found M.Y. "Freelander" and we tied up alongside and were treated with great kindness. We refuelled here and generally had a clean up. The weather got worse and worse and the reports that we did get, gave us very little hope. So we settled down to enjoy the local wine and the company of "Freelander", both of which were excellent. We spent Wednesday night and the next day at Leixoes and, after dinner on Thursday May 19th the weather looked suitable so, aided by a good dinner, we set sail at 23:00 for Lisbon. We had a good run through the night and the next day was fine and sunny; we made a good passage of fourteen hours arriving at Lisbon Friday mid-day - having just exceeded our first thousand miles. Going up the river we noticed a drop in r.p.m. and on inspection we found that the pipe from the fuel pump to the filter was fractured. We located the yacht harbour and arranged to refuel and make good the pipe. Here we had great luck, because, while we were making up a jury pipe, one of the people on the quay asked us in English about the "Christina" boat and told us that his uncle was coming down shortly and that he would be most interested to see the boat. In a few minutes he arrived and he insisted we stay the night. He said he would send his car down in the morning and give the driver instructions to take us to a place where we would get a new pipe and the necessary fitting. This was a great help, as the yacht harbour is some way from the town, and we would have had great difficulty in finding what we required. That night "Freelander" came in and once again we were looked after and fed. In the morning our car arrived and, in no time, we found what we wanted so at 12:30 on Saturday we were under way for Gibraltar. The weather was perfect and by evening we were off Cape St. Vincent. As night came so the wind increased but the sea was reasonable and we were passing plenty of shipping. At about 02:00 on Sunday we were overhauling what appeared to be about a 12 1/2 knot cargo boat and, as the sea was increasing, we decided to get what protection we could from him until daylight. We ran along very comfortably just under his stern until daylight when we started to pull away from him. He signalled "what ship?" and, I think, was a little surprised to see a speed boat so far out, and even more surprised when we told him we were from England! By now there was a fresh breeze and once again we were getting spray over, but we could keep at full speed. As the day advanced the wind eased a little and we soon started to dry out; but the visibility was bad and the first thing we saw was, what we assumed could only be, the Moroccan coast, and a mass of fishing boats. We went over to them and have never seen a more mixed bag of people or boats. The crew obviously slept, ate, fought, and fished on the open deck while the captain, a far superior type, maintained splendid isolation in a little box in the middle. We gathered that we were only about 5 miles off the coast so we decided to make for Tangier and see if "Pamara " had arrived. We got in at 11:30 on Sunday May 22nd - twenty three hours continuous running - and there she was; we were given a very fine breakfast and heard of their trip. We also had the opportunity of thanking them for the trouble they had taken with us in the Bay. Apparently they had run into very bad weather during the time that we were in Vigo. We had a quick walk around the old town and then proceeded on to Gibraltar stopping for a very enjoyable bathe on the way. Gibraltar presented difficulties as it was Sunday and therefore it appeared no arrangements could be made for a yacht to enter the harbour, in spite of the fact that we had called them up on the radio and asked permission. After a lot of messing about we were finally allowed to go over to the Yacht Club and pick up a mooring. By this time we had run out of clothes so we decided to stay in the Rock Hotel and get some laundry done, to be ready without fail by Monday evening. We also arranged to refuel and hoped to be away by Monday night. On Monday I began to feel restless, and after rushing around the town and buying a few necessities, I arranged to refuel at 15:30, and I went up to the hotel to see about the laundry. I found it was still in a bundle and would not be ready till Tuesday, so back it went on board and we arranged to go with Mr. Capurro to Marbella for dinner - he in his H.D.M.L. and we in "Christina". We arrived at about 23:30 and went ashore to a very amusing little town, made up of night clubs and restaurants, where we had a very good evening, returning aboard at about three o’clock in the morning - but not before my navigator bad taken one pace too many at the sea end of the pier. After a little difficulty we had the full complement aboard, and the clothesline rigged. A few farewell drinks and we set sail as daylight came. Tuesday looked like being a lovely day for cruising and dozing, but once again a head wind sprang up and, by about 15:30, we were bashing into a big head sea with an increasing wind, force 5/6. We decided to pit into Almeria and we tied up at the local Yacht Club where we were made very welcome and managed to do some of the washing that we had brought on from Gibraltar, and have a general clean up. At 05:00 the next morning - Wednesday May 25th - we were away, and the weather looked hopeful. We had been told that there was a fuel pump on the end of the quay at Villajoyosa and, as this was just about at the end of our range from Gibraltar, we decided to make it our refuelling stop. At the end of a pleasant trip of about twelve hours (with the usual rough patches round the headlands), we arrived about 17:00 to find a very small and deserted fishing harbour with no fuel pump in sight. After protracted sign language, it was decided by the locals that a visit to the Captain of the Port was necessary, so I was hoisted aboard a low powered motor bicycle and taken, at top speed, along a lot of unmade roads up to the town. Here we found the Captain who spoke English and told me that no fuel was available and we would have to go back to Alicante. By the time I got back to the boat the Guardia Civile had arrived and we had to hang about for an hour while a few more people had a look at passports that obviously meant absolutely nothing to them, but made them all feel important. We were now faced with a two-hour trip in the wrong direction and an uncertain fuel position, but luckily we did not run out. We arrived in Alicante at 20:50 - just too late to get fuel - only to be told that tomorrow was a holiday and that the pumps would be shut. Once again we were lucky and a Mr. Fixit appeared and, with the aid of a wheelbarrow and three 40 gallon drums, we managed to get the fuel on to the quay; but there was no pump and no pipes, so we took out our bilge pump system complete and converted it to a refuelling unit. By lunch time we had a reasonable percentage of fuel in the boats and the balance over ourselves, but we had beaten the Fiesta. We had a quick lunch ashore and set sail for Valancia at 14.00. The weather was good so we stopped to have a bathe end clean up the spilt diesel fuel. 
In view of the good weather we decided, to carry on to Barcelona and, at Cap San Antonio, we set course across the Gulf of Valencia. But no sooner had we cleared the headland than the wind increased to force 5/6 pushing up a big sea. As night was approaching, we changed back to our original plan and headed for Valencia. After two hours the wind dropped again but there was a big swell. By 22:00 we sighted the lights of Valencia and headed for the harbour. About ten minutes later we could see nothing and thought the lights must be obscured by a rain squall, but we later found that the whole town and the lights on the harbour had been cut owing to a power failure. By 22:30 on Thursday night we were on a mooring at the Yacht Club after a passage of eight hours. Once again we were able to make use of one of the very fine Spanish clubs, and we settled down to a meal. But we were disturbed by a call for our passports, which were on the boats so we had to go and collect them and hand them over and then walk right up to the town to get them back from the Police Station; by which time we had lost the sleep we had hoped to get in port, and might just as well have kept going. In view of the fact that our nights rest bad been spoilt by the passport incident we got going at 04:00 on Friday 27th May bound for Barcelona. We started in good weather, with a slight swell from the South; once again we encountered the usual rough seas at the headlands but, in all, it was a good run of eleven hours or so, and we were in the Barcelona Harbour at 15:30. We went straight to the Yacht Club to find out about refuelling. Once again we received immediate help, and proceeded to a pump on the quay - where our difficulties started. It appeared that, first, we had to go to the Oil Company Office and pay, and then bring a chit back to the pump. So off I started, back to the Club, and then a mile walk up to the town to the office. The officials here wanted the ship’s papers, passports, etc. But we had no ship’s papers, and sorted this problem out by presenting them with a nice "Christina" brochure to prove we were the builders. I had a bad night thinking about this brochure sitting in their files, and hoping no further action would be taken on it; then back to the oil agents in the morning. I had meanwhile with great difficulty managed to conserve enough Spanish money to pay, and this I produced. What a pity, they told me, that they could only accept foreign currency! I still had a card or two to play, so I produced English money. This looked hopeful, and was quite acceptable, but unfortunately it would have to be done through a bank - and the banks were shut. Round one to Spain! At 09:00 the next day - Saturday - I was standing outside the bank and, as the doors opened, I was in and presenting the necessary paper to convert sterling to diesel oil at very bad rate. Back I went to the oil office where they were very friendly, and a little surprised to see me, but they soon got back onto the question of ship’s papers etc. So I dished out a few more photographs and specifications, in the end they gave me a chit. Even they could not resist the temptation to sell diesel fuel at that price! As soon as I got back we went straight to the pump, presented our hard earned paper, and started to fuel. This was not easy as the U.S. Navy had arrived overnight, and by now they had every type of motor launch going, at full speed, in front of the refuelling station. We had about 50 litres to go when the pump ran out, but this time I could see that I was not going to win so we pushed off and set course for Marseilles. It was now 11:25 on the 28th May and we calculated we had enough fuelto manage without the 50 litres. The weather was reasonable and we made good time; by evening we were nearing Cape Bear. We could see a thunder-storm approaching - and suddenly there was a force 6 wind from the North. We would not be up to Cape Bear till dark so we decided to anchor just inside France at Banyuls, where we would be protected from the weather. We had now completed our second thousand miles. By now the wind was blowing very hard indeed, and we were in the middle of the thunderstorm, so I was glad that we had a reasonable place to run for. As we got under the land the sea dropped away, at 20:55 on Saturday evening (after ten hours run) we found a very agreeable anchorage with a steep beach with the fishing boats pulled up. We were told by the locals to use the mooring in the middle of the bay. When we were secured we decided to launch the rubber dinghy and go ashore for dinner. Soon we had the boat pumped up and we went to one of the restaurants for a meal. We were presented with a simple menu with soupe de poisson, fish, and langouste. I was most impressed and, feeling hungry, we ordered the lot as it seemed to be so reasonable. I must here say that we were immediately moved to a better table, and I thought what fun to have found a place so remote that you could have a meal like this at such a reasonable price, so the two of us let ourselves go on the wine, and sat back to enjoy ourselves. Then all was finished I dug out my frs. 5000 (old), handed them over, and waited for the change. There was some delay, and the waiter seemed to be orbiting a bit, but I thought that perhaps in these remote parts they might have a little trouble finding change. After about ten minutes the head man arrived; I felt that this was a nice gesture, and I was preparing to shake him by the hand, when he handed me a bill for frs. 9000 - and explained that the menu consisted of any one of the items on the list, and we bad had all three, and also a sweet and coffee! As the frs. 5000 were all I had on me, I had to embark on the rubber dinghy and set out for more funds. Half way over the bung came out of the fore part of the boat and only by an all-out effort did I arrive at "Christina" before all the air had gone. After a quite night in this protected anchorage we got under way at 06:00 on the 29th May and set sail for Cannes on the last leg of our journey. The wind was fresh but after rounding the headland we were able to keep close in to the shore and as it was North West we were protected. As the day advanced the wind increased to force 7/8 and clouds of sand were blowing off the shore but by keeping in as close as we dared we remained in reasonably smooth water. As we approached Port Sete we were becoming more exposed and there was a big sea running but we were still able to keep up our speed as the seas were long and we were riding them quite comfortably. However, we decided that we would put into Marseilles as we were getting worried about our fuel, so at 17:00 we sighted Marseilles and proceeded into the harbour and secured alongside at the Societe Nautique. As it was a Sunday I was doubtful whether we could obtain fuel, but after some difficulty I managed to change some money and with jerricans we collected fuel from a garage. The old man who was working the pump kept telling me how pleased he was with his new electric pump that bad only been fitted that week and while I was getting the tins in position he started it up and covered me from head to foot in diesel oil which was a happy start to the operation. After a bath at the Club and a good dinner we were ready to complete the last passage of our trip and decided to leave at 04:00 on Monday 30th May as I wanted to get to Cannes for Lunch; the weather was perfect and we arrived at Cannes at 11:35 having completed a grand total of 2,300 miles. Feeling rather pleased with ourselves we told anyone we could find who would listen to us that we had just brought the boat from England and we were then asked all about the canals or what sort of trailer we had used! |
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