Graham (and Frances) keep Woolly Mammoth in ‘the other island’ click to enlargeI’m back on Play d’eau and all is well with life. Very well.
Woolly Mammoth
Having followed my time in hospital for a rebuild of my prostate last week, our dear friends, Graham and Frances of Woolly Mammoth have penned an ‘Ode to Pee’.
It’s brilliant!
Ode to Pee
We thought we’d write this little verse, now you’ve seen the Doc and Nurse;
And they’ve unclogged your blocked up drain, enabling you to Pee again.
We also thought it would be nice, to give a bit of our advice
‘Cause you’re not used to good full flow, whenever you may want to go.
When you’re next having a great time, stand up and shout, I WANT MORE WINE;
Your tank will fill so just take care, that you don’t Pee it everywhere.
When you are full we recommend, that you yourself can just pretend
On your next visit to the Loo, stand back, take aim like firemen do.
Please don’t mind our little tease, we just want you to be at ease;
It’s wonderful now you can Wee, all we can do is shout YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEE……..
Woolly Mammoth
Piers
from the Pilot house of Play d’eau
Fleming 55
Beaucette Marina
Graham and Frances beloved Woolly Mammoth click to enlargeWe had three clear days in Jersey during which I can report that we came, we saw, we attempted to conquer, we left.
Mind you, the sun was hot and shone brightly the whole time we were there. How brilliant was that as our summer cruise drew to a close?
Graham, Frances, and us
Having last seen Graham and Frances in May 2013 for Piers’ birthday celebrations, it was just perfect having time with them again, and, of course, their beloved yacht, Woolly Mammoth.
As ever, we talked, laughed, carried out our threat to terrorise the local restaurants, ate good food whilst attempting, unsuccessfully, to drink them dry of good wine.
But hey, what’s retirement for?The Royal Yacht Hotel’s ‘super’ homemade burger click to enlargeThe first evening, we were all treated to three of Lin’s signature dishes onboard Play d’eau. Stuffed Coeur de Boeuf tomatoes on croutons, Fettuccini with asparagus and toasted pumpkin seeds drizzled with lemon olive oil, and raspberry sorbet with raspberry coulis.
The next, we ate at Shaun Rankin’s new Ormer restaurant which, as we write, has just been granted its first Michelin star.
The last day saw us at the Royal Yacht Hotel having lunch on the terrace under a red hot sun. We chose lunch rather than dinner since we had an early start the next day to return to Beaucette.
Woolly Mammoth’s vital statistics
Woolly was conceived and designed by Graham, architected by Bill Dixon and built in steel by Slot Yachtbau of Monnickendam, Holland. At 53′ loa and an airdraft of 71′, she’s impressive.Woolly Mammoth owned by Graham and Frances click to enlargeOver-engineered for circumnavigation and ice breaking, she has a 14.5′ beam, 7′ draught and displaces over 30 tons fully laden. The first 14′ is behind a watertight bulkhead and door.
Cutter rigged, the working sail area is a colossal 1,300 sq ft.
With 150 imperial gallons (680 ltrs) of water in 3 tanks and 450 imperial gallons (2,050 ltrs) of diesel in 5 tanks plus a 26 imperial gallon (120 ltrs) day tank, she has an under power cruising range of some 2,500 nms.
We left
Leaving St Helier marina for Beaucette, we knew we’d had a brilliant time.
Yet there was one burning question in our minds. ‘Who said Woolly Mammoths were extinct?’
Piers and Lin
from the Saloon of Play d’eau
Fleming 55
You can get in touch with us any time by using our Contact Form.
It was still dark when we awoke and we had to wait for the sill to open click to enlargeWe didn’t want to go home.
Having spent three months and six days of cruising to new and exciting places, the explorer bug had set in. Yet, we both knew the time was right to be back home in peaceful Beaucette, Guernsey.
The three days in Jersey were a ball. With our friends Graham and Frances of Woolly Mammoth, we ate on Play d’eau the first evening (Piers head hurt the next morning), we ate at Shaun Rankin’s new Ormer restaurant the next evening (Piers head didn’t hurt the next morning), and we’d had lunch at the Royal Yacht Hotel, in the sun, on our last day.
Learned fact: Life revolves around eating and drinking, interrupted with elements of work.
The weather
There were bursts of bright sun when the cloud allowed it through click to enlargeA whispering easterly F1/2 was all the wind could muster whilst grey clouds were interspersed with short bursts of bright sunlight. You could smell the dampness in the air which reduced visibility to just over a mile. Yet it was warm enough for shorts and T-shirts.
Pinch points
St Helier marina’s sill time was the limiting factor, but if we left as soon as it opened our time on passage would allow us to motor straight into Beaucette without having to wait at St Peter Port or hang onto one of Beaucette’s visitor’s buoys.
The nav plan
The tide would be against us for the short time from St Helier until nearing Corbière, after which it would help by pushing us along.
The journey
We left St Helier’s marina as soon as we could click to enlargeWe were awake well before the alarm went off, full of anticipation.
Once out of the harbour, we turned west, passed Noirmont and close to Corbière before turning NNW for Guernsey. With no wind, the sea was glassy flat calm, even in the Little Russel where we took the inner route from St Sampson to Beaucette where the current gave us extra 3kts.
Arriving
Ricky, the marina manager, always likes Play d’eau to give a good blast on her Kahlenbergs when we enter of leave Beaucette. Today was to be no exception. Shortly before entering through the quarry walls, the Kahlenbergs let rip. The echoes seemed to reverberate around the old quarry for ages. Yes!
The tecky details
Back at our berth in Beaucette where even the pigeons were there to welcome us click to enlargeDeparted St helier – 0731
Arrived Beaucette – 1105
Time on passage – 3hr 36min
Total planned distance – 30.2nm
Tide: Half way from springs to neaps
Longest leg 19.3nm from Corbière to east of St Peter Port
Tech issues – nil
Incidents – nil
Navigational info: The Little Russel can be avoided by taking the inside route from St Sampson to Beaucette which avoids the angry and sometimes tumultuous seas the Little Russell can throw up. But, it’s a route not to be attempted without local knowledge.
The end of our summer cruise
Well, we started cruising on 17 June, and finished on 25 September. The longest we’ve ever had together on holiday, let alone on the sea and in our boat.
It’s been brilliant. We’ve learned a great deal about each other, we’ve eaten well, we’ve enjoyed cooking, we’ve met some wonderful people, we’ve so enjoyed exploring and can’t wait until next year.
Now, do we go to the Baltic, or head back down to the west coast of France again to explore the areas we missed this time? Who knows? Maybe we’ll just exit Beaucette and make the decision then. North or south? That’ll be the question.
Piers and Lin
From the Pilot House of Play d’eau
Fleming 55
You can get in touch with us any time by using our Contact Form.
We passed close to Corbière lighthouse click to enlarge
We left Paimpol’s harbour and motored east along the narrow channel click to enlargeWith fresh croissants from Le Fournil du Port collected by Lin and safely stowed in the galley (away from Piers), and the water tanks refilled (we don’t like Jersey’s desalinated water), we lit the fires and cast off ending our delightful nine day stay in this glorious Brittany port.
Exiting the lock, we waved goodbye to the lock-keeper, headed out of the harbour and into the long, narrow channel.
The weather
After days and days of high winds that kept us safely tucked up in Paimpol’s Basin 1, today’s wind was almost non-existent. It was so calm, registering a gust maximum of 0.26kts on Play d’eau’s instruments.
OK, the sky was full of murky cloud but there was no rain and the temperature was ‘good to go’. So we did.
Pinch points
We threaded our way through the Chenal Saint-Rion click to enlargeThe controlling pinch point was the opening time of the lock to exit Paimol giving us a departure time of 0845. Given this, we’d arrive at St Helier at low tide when there’d be insufficient water to enter the marina so we’d have to stay a while on their waiting pontoon, just outside. Not a problem.
Tide Plan 2
The longest leg is 32.7nm. For this, we’d use Tide Plan 2, a software which plans a constant heading to steer between waypoints, ensuring the tidal flow is put to best advantage (or least disadvantage) giving the best time on the leg.
Note: the software can be downloaded for trial, free of charge, from CompassCard.
The nav plan
The hard to starboard turn into La Collette click to enlargeSeeing we’d leave at the top of an 11m spring tide, we decided to pilot Play d’eau through the Chenal Saint-Rion regaining our planned track 0.4nm east of the Ar Bonn Krenv ECM. From there we’d motor north until clearing the Plateau des Échaudés before heading ENE for Jersey via the Danger Rock Passage and Green Rock SHM.
The journey
Piloting through the Chenal Saint-Rion was fun. The spring tide was having a ball, dancing a Viennese waltz around the small islands and rocky seabed, its turning and swirling causing the autopilot to work overtime to keep us on track whilst coping with an additional 3.7kts of tide.
Arriving at the Nord Horaine NCM, we set the autopilot to Tide Plan’s calculated heading of 077 (T) for our next waypoint just south of Les Grunes Vaudin on Danger Rock Passage.The Furuno NN3D chart plotter recorded our arrival into La Collette click to enlargeFor the next few hours we had a calm sea with a lazy 1m swell from behind created by the many lows that had been playing in the Atlantic for the last week or so.
Arriving
TidePlan 2 had done a reasonable job, putting us back on track just 2nm before the waypoint. It was now low tide, giving us just 1m above chart datum.
Calling St Helier marina we were told there was Dragon Boat racing in the main harbour and that we’d have to pull into the adjacent La Collette harbour and wait on D pontoon. ‘Follow the dory,’ was the Harbour Master’s advice. ‘It’s a very low spring tide and the channel to the pontoons is narrow.’ Shades of Paimpol, I wondered? At one stage Play d’eau only had 60cms beneath her keel.
It would be 2½hrs before we could leave and motor the half mile to the St Helier marina. We used the time to give Play d’eau a bath, reset clocks to UK time and change SIMs on our mobiles.
Whilst we paused for a few moments to have some hot chocolate, we looked at each other and said, ‘Nearly home.’
The tecky details
After a two hours we cast off from La Collette and arrived at St Helier marina at 1745 click to enlargeDeparted Paimpol – 0845 (French)
Arrived La Collette – 1515 (UK)
Time on passage – 8hr 30min
Total planned distance – 47.5nm
Tide: Top of springs
Longest leg – 32.7nm Nord Horaine NCM to
Tech issues – nil
Incidents – nil
Navigational info: The approach into La Collette requires a hard turn to starboard to go between the mole and the PHM. Track close to the fishing boats to starboard before heading to the pontoons to port.
Play d’eau waking up as dawn is about to break click to enlargeAlthough we’ve loved being in Paimpol, a weather window is opening to allow us to escape to St Helier, Jersey, after 9 days here.
We had wanted to visit Binic first, but given the delay from high winds we’ve had to miss that part of our plan.
Paimpol
Paimpol is such a beautiful, small old Brittany town, built around its original granite harbour from which many sailing trawlers crossed the Atlantic to fish for cod off the Newfoundland’s Grand Banks.
The harbour remains a fishing port yet today’s trawlers have swapped sails for engines, salt for refrigerators, and only venture a few miles out to sea. In addition, the Port de Plaisance accommodates over 330 yachts, with more available in Basin 1.
The marina’s wi-fi didn’t reach the corner of Bassin 1 where we were moored. So we picked up our ‘ordinateurs’ and walked along the line of many cafés and restaurants on the harbour front, all advertising free wi-fi.A line of trawlers stretched out behind us click to enlargeOne told us we could use their wi-fi if we ordered a meal. ‘Non,’ I replied. The next, Quai Quest, welcomed us, gave us their access code and found us a good place. With no demand for us to order anything, we ordered deux chocolat chaud – grand.
Having to cope with a large back log of emails we went on to order lunch – and what a great meal. The first course was slices of goat’s cheese on small crispy bread, served on shreds of lettuce with a honey dressing and walnut pieces. Sheer delight. We were so pleased we didn’t give our patronage to the previous restaurant.
We used their wi-fi so often, we had dinner there one evening. Again, it was excellent food and at a very reasonable price. Not a tourist in site – that said something.
Farmers’ market
Yes, there’s a regular farmers’ market on Tuesdays, and as with others we’ve seen, it’s vast. The selection of foods let alone the varieties on offer, sparks the imagination and makes shopping such a joy.The tide recedes for over three miles leaving soft mud. The channel is narrow and you need to stay on the centreline click to enlargeMakes you wonder how well a market stall full of pre-packaged, pre-prepared, pre-cooked, chemically enhanced, food reconstructed, GM modified ‘meals’ would survive.
In contrast, how great it was to buy unpasteurised cream, spooned out of an open large tub from the dairy farmer’s stall.
The tides
Paimpol is approached along a long, narrowing channel, and until you’ve seen what happens to the sea after the tide’s drained it all away, it’s hard to imagine just how dry and narrow it becomes.
Looking back along the channel from the shore at low water makes you realise how vital it is to stay between the markers for the last half mile especially, unless you want to feature in the next edition of the local paper – and the UK magazine Motor Boats Monthly!
Play d’eau’s Departure from Paimpol
Looking from the lock gates to the harbour entrance click to enlargeThe plan is to leave Paimpol on Saturday 21 September for St Helier, Jersey, where we’ll meet Graham and Frances of Woolly Mammoth and have a meal at Shaun Rankin’s new restaurant, Ormer.
Needing to be back in Guernsey for 29 September, we’ll probably leave on the 26th, weather dependent.
Piers and Lin
From the Pilot House of Play d’eau
Fleming 55
You can get in touch with us any time by using our Contact Form.
These were the voyages of Piers and Lin du Pré aboard their Fleming 55
