One week a Brest!

Christina II at the Guest Dock

The list of to-do and to-get items was long. We still had the issues of the batteries, alternator, along with some new ones like the fuel pump, the water pump, and a rip in the jib sail. Okay, loads to do, but first breakfast!

At 3:30pm we dropped the dinghy in the water and headed towards the micro town of Le Fret, where we were originally trying to go (ya, ya we all got up late). Cutting through the restricted zone, we promptly got intercepted, again, and told to go around. Almost an 1 hour later we got to the little romantic town of Le Fret.

Immigration comes to us!

Beautiful Clipper ship in the bay

Our French Navy Neighbors

The regatta we had to pass through to get to the marina

Coming to get us!

Quickly, as the tide was going to change and it would be really a fight to make it back to the boat, we ran off in different directions. Brian was to locate the fuel dock, get prices, dinghy petrol, and ferry info (suposively there was a high speed ferry from le Fret to Brest – like SF to Tiburon), and I was to get fresh veggies, milk & eggs with Irene. Oh yeah, we were in France, par la vous English, anyone? Nope.

After struggling with the French, we found the grocery store, but it was more like a 7 Eleven. It had veggies & fruits but I really wouldn’t call it food, or at least anything I’d eat, or serve to my enemies. Okay, cheese, crackers, & Perrier it was. Oh, and eggs too.

Brian was able to purchase some fuel off a random man which was lucky since the town was too small for a fuel dock or even station. The ferry wasn’t running either so going there to anchor would have been a total bust. The next day we waited for the tide to be right, and we motored over to a marina. There we stayed for the week, provisioning, fixing items, and purchasing supplies. The tally; Fuel pump fixed, alternator fixed, Mizen sail cut to size, Jib sail repaired, batteries sorted & boat re provisioned, among other bits & bobs.

the rip in the jib sail

Port Moulin Blanc

Engine crapped out in the middle of Channel!

No, not the English Channel but the French, Rade de Brest channel. Bad enough, but we also dropped the anchor in the “restricted harbor mouth” military zone of Le Fret in this giant bay (like Alameda is to SF Bay). If that wasn’t exciting enough, moments before we received our latest/greatest crew addition – pronounced Irina – rolling the “R” (Irene) from Holland – via a sailboat to sailboat transfer in the narrows! What! We were under full sails doing 7 knots and they were motoring at 10 knot trying to catch us. Yes, what were our captains thinking? Oh, and yeah, it was dark, cold and raining.

This was our arrival to Brest, France, state of Bretagne (pronounced Brittany because it was once part of the British Empire, long, long ago). After about 20 minutes the French military commandos came out and told us in no circumstance could we stay where we were and would have to move. These were the same commandos that sank the Greenpeace ship in New Zealand. After explaining our condition, they said they’d be back in 1 hour to ensure our compliance. Okay, right. So Richard, Brian and then Irene pulled up the anchor, by hand, all 20 M (that about 60 feet of chain)! Sails went back up. Kat was on the helm (wheel), as we had about 25 kts of breeze, we aimed for the nearest anchorage on the proper tack (wind angle). Richard was on lookout, calling to pinch more (sail closer to the wind, but not directly into it) and Brian was at the navigation station (looking at the GPS and chart of the anchorage) telling me to fall off the wind so we wouldn’t stall. Yeah, that’s opposite directions! In the end the tide was ebbing so hard, it almost washed us out (back through the narrows we fought so hard to get though), so I just turned up (into the wind) and we dropped the anchor, again. Hoping for the best, we were able to anchor (in about 20 M again), but didn’t realize we were in the middle of the bay so much until morning! Oops, oh well, those military boats and subs could just do there training exercises around us (and they did)! At least we were clear of the restricted zone.

It was 12:30am when we popped open a bottle of red wine, nerves frazzled, and got to know our new crew addition. In bed at 2am, with all our wet gear hung up, but hey, we were in France! Land of the croissant, yeah! No more gloomy England, we are on our way!

The Crossing

Oops so we kind of overslept, all of us. No 4 am starts here, so I’m not complaining. Finally, we were going to Brest. It was a nice sunny day, so a good start. Now, time to sail! Let’s see what this baby can do.

Wow, a max speed of 3.5 knots. I think I can swim faster than that! Hmmm. So finally the wind picked up and with the addition of the mizzen sail we were averaging 4.5 knots – much, much better. Later in the evening, or morning, depending on which way you look at 2am- we were really going as I hit a new high of 6.8knots. Well, at least we were sailing and it felt good. Really good, and very empowering. Being one with the sea, the stars and the night. Then you see it. At first I just though, okay a big container ship, but after a line of mast head lights, spaced at ½ hour intervals, one could only surmise it was the ferries from France to England. No worries, as they were on completely another tack, far away from us. After that, I just relaxed into night…..

The morning however was different. Brian’s shift started at 5 am and quick looks around showed 5 freighters close by. We were in the middle of the shipping lanes. It felt like crossing the freeway on a tricycle. Several ships didn’t see us until Brian shined a flashlight on the mainsail. My shift started at 7am and I took over after Brian. My first questions was “why is there a dock to our stern?” It was just another close passage of a tanker, but at least it was light now. The wind had died down so much we were barely moving. Not good since no speed = no helm control. I lost it and started doing donuts in the middle of the English Channel. At first I thought there were multiple tankers, but then realized, no, it was me and I was doing circles. The tanker ship coming up my starboard side must have thought I was crazy as he took an extra wide berth around us. Brian tried desperately to tack us but the maneuver failed. Richard was called in and the engines were started! A motor sailing we would go…

Fowey, England

So we landed in the little town of Fowey, instead of crossing the channel to Brest. Bad move since it was a cross between a really cool Capitola like town for shopping and a small village out in the middle of nowhere (like hike 3 km each was for petrol). So, what did I do - Shop.

The mouth of the bay

I finally broke down. I was cold and the fleece jackets in the window looked so warm, and so did the fuzzy crocs, and the fuzzy slipper sock, and the really nice nautical looking wool sweater. Now, I don't usually like wool, too itchy, but this was soft and warm and well, on sale! Oh, and I had to buy a purse since I never replaced the one that was stolen in Barcelona. Bad kitty indeed. Meow

at Anchor

the anchorage

Anyhow, we enjoyed Fowey immensely, even though it was bad on the budget. Good thing we left for Brest 2 days later!

Kitty at the helm

On our way

Plymouth, Cornwall, Millbrook, whatever!

Okay so we took the bus to Plymouth, Devon county, but really needed to go to Millbrook, but the boat is located in Southdown. Not sure if Southdown is the name of the marina or an actual town name. Oh, and Cornwall, is the county, for Millbrook, that is. Devon and Cornwall have a fierce rivalrey. Good, glad you are keeping up. I know we are supose to speak the same language and everything, but I speak American and not very well! The saying goes "The biggest divide between Britain and American is caused by the confusion that we speak the same language." One of the many cool phrases / sayings /quotes /vocabulary words, I've picked up over here, but another blog about that later.

Southdown Marina

Yeah, that's all the boats sitting in the mud!

Now, a bit about a little town named Millbrook, and the Southdown marina where we are staying. Millbrook is charming, quaint, something right out of a Hugh Grant movie. It has a pub - the Devon & Cornwall and a Grocery, Natural foods, hardware, a restaurant, a fish & chips take away, and charity shop downtown. Oh, their is one gas station in town and a bus stop of course! Well, that's about it. One notable thing to mention is the size of the streets, lets just say they are very little two ways through & out of town. The road just before town center is lined so high with berry shrubs it's like your driving in a corn maze.

Bri working on/ in the Freezer!

Kat Power washing the deck

South Down - What can I say about it? Humm, it's like Napa, that is for boats! Mud pie anyone? My name is mud? It is the most unique marina I have every been too. The tide rises and falls so much (6-9 meters) that twice a day all the boats are sitting on the hard, well the mud, that is. Then the tide comes back in and you are again floating. So, to go sailing, you have to wait for high tide to even get out of the marina, and in our case, being such a large vessel, we were also waiting for the highest tide of the month (cyclical you know) to leave on.

Anyhow, the people who lived at the marina were really the only great thing about it. There were not many amenities and it was all dirt. It did however have a bathroom, shower facilities, cafe, & washer and dyer. That is if you wanted to pay $4pounds a wash and $4 pounds a dry = that's about $12US a load! Yauzers! Oh, and the dryer didn't work. Whatever!

We were supose to be leaving on the 7th of September. It then got pushed back to the 19th, with us actually leaving on the October 4th!

London, Part II

Guess what, we arrived in time for Carnival! Well, at least their version of it, called the Notting Hill Street Festival. Our hostel ended up being smack down in the middle of the action. It was crazy with people, parties, music, and food. Streets were blocked off and traffic diverted. Just another crazy street parade. We ended up staying the whole weekend for it.

At the parade

It was also a Caribean Heritage Festival

Most participants were involved in a chocolate fight!

Popeye & Olive oil - how appropriate!

The Chocolate king!

A very cool float

We are the world

Look at all these people!

Just a momento - so sad

I totally want this pink car!!!!

The hostel was great. It was the least expensive of all our places, included breakfast, was not miles away from public transport, had a really great laundry machine, and had Sky net TV. I watched a bunch of movies, it was great. Very relaxing.

Monday we were off, Plymouth & sailing bound!

Bus Ride BacK via Brussels

Just another bus ride from hell, compliments of Eurolines. Right, so we boarded the bus in Prague late, at 9:30pm and arrived in Brussels at noon. We then had to hustle and book our tickets to London on the 1:30pm bus coming from Amsterdam, hoping that they still had room. As it was, we were in luck and they had 6 seats left, wonderful.

Now, we had 30 minutes to find and use the bathroom, book a hostel online, and grab a quick bit to eat. We were scheduled to arrive in London at 9pm. Late, but enough time to get to our lodging from Victoria Station.

Our connecting bus arrived at 2:30pm but the driver needed a break so we wouldn't leave for another 45 min. The only thing great about it was the driver, who was a hoot and the bus logo with a giant tiger on it saying "On a Mission". Finally, we were allowed to board the bus and we were off. Right, okay so we were only 2 hours late. Thank god the U.K. was an hour behind. We got there at 10:45pm GMT.

One hour later we were queued up to board the high speed train for the tunnel from France to England. Customs and immigration was hilarious in the fact that we got off the bus, went through French customs, got on the bus, drove literally 50 feet, got off the bus for English immigrations, and was told not to get back on the bus until you go through and out to the other side. He would then drive over there and pick us up. It was 10 feet away.

The Channel was interesting. The train reaches speeds 90 miles per hour and the trip was shorter than the wait,loading and unloading.

Luckily, it was Friday and our hostel had an all night reception. Also, it was literally right around the corner from Baywater station on the Circle line. Oh, plus it came with breakfast. Yeah, just tea and toast but free anything was a welcome.

A Happy Birthday in Prague

Wow, this city has changed. I have been to Prague 3 times now. First in 1990, only 1 year after the fall of the Berlin wall and communism, then in 1993, and again, now almost 20 years later. I can tell you this, the cheap little Gyros stand in the Gothic square no longer exists! Things are much, much more expensive now, but then what did I expect?

We arrived in the late afternoon, but on Brian's birthday which was great. After spending much time in the Internet locating a hostel, and then getting money - they are not on the euro yet - it was quit late when we got settled. We did manage to find a great little spot in new town (which is like 200 years old), and had a wonderful Birthday dinner.

Bri on the Famous Charles Bridge

The next day we took the free walking tour. Our guide was a true character and it was awesome! As we only had until 9pm in Prague before we had to hustle back to London (our bus passes expired), we had a lot to pack in. The only complaint is we didn't have more time. No surprise there.

St. Nicholas on the Square

The Famous Gothic Cathedral

The Famous Astronomical Clock

The Karl Franz Statue in the Jewish Quarter

The tour took us past things I had never seen before and gave us a good understanding & background for the city. Prague is actually a very wealthy city, both literally and figuratively.

We ended by the famous Charles Bridge and promptly hopped the metro to the tram up to the castle district. We ran out of time for a tour but did get to walk through the Castle & Palace, and even the church. It was a great view of the river & the city from up there. We even got to see the changing of the guards when we walked out the gates.

Over view of the city

View of the Castle District

Church in the Castle

Changing of the Guard

Funny Peeing statue???

A Happy Birthday Boy!

Off we went, bound for London once again and hopefully a grand sailing adventure!

Land of the Lyon - Lyon, France

In order to get to Prague, one of the places Brian really, really wanted to go, we needed to go through Lyon, France. Plus, when we went to the bus counter to book our next leg, this was the only place we could go. Anyhow, never being here before, we had no expectations, and no knowledge of the place.

Arriving in the morning, groggy as always lately, we stowed our bags and found a hostel. It was raining, but actually I was very impressed initially with this city. It is uniquely situated between the Rhone and Saone Rivers with distinct districts to it. We landed in the district up the hill with this big famous church on it.

This Church was so beautiful, inside and out. The artwork, architecture, gardens, and sculptures were fantastic. Especially since they used a lot of lyons, Meow!

Brian goofing off

We arrived the morning of the farmer protest and they clogged the city streets with tons of tractors.

Tractors in Revolt!

As we learned, there are some very cool things in this city. One, the Lumiere brothers lived here and the invention of cinema was born. You all know I am a movie freak so the museum was a delight to visit. It had an exploratorium edge to it, meaning it was very interactive and you got to touch things. Button pusher!

Also, in Lyon was the miniatures museum. They had all kinds of models for movies, including star wars props, terminator, alien and on, and on.

The courtyard of the miniatures museum

The very first movie poster, notice there is no title

We had 2 days here which in a way was kind of nice. We relaxed and had no agenda to keep. We took time to stroll along the embarcadero, and snack at little cafes, and dip our toes in fountains.

One of the many foot bridges in the city

this one lead to the hill and our hostel

Enjoying a latte and leek quiche at one of many cute side walk french cafes. Love the croissants & coffees!

2 Churches - both beautiful inside

Reflection pond along the beautiful embarcadero

I loved this giant flower statue along the waterfront - so cool!