Ready for the Big Bay of Biscay

Having almost made it across the English Channel, and confidently thinking we wouldn’t need any more stops, we ran out of diesel. So typical! After hours of motoring through the channel (thanks to winds that were this time either too calm or non-existent), we had to make an unplanned yet quick stop in Cherbourg, France, to refuel.

Remember when I mentioned in the last post that we ‘dove’ into the next harbour? Well, this wasn’t a metaphor. While unscrewing the cap for the diesel tank, the cap dove straight into the bottom of the harbour. As did Marco! He sprang into action, dove into the freezing water, fished out the cap, and emerged victorious. This must have been the first shower he took since they started sailing and probably the last one for a while.

Honestly, I think Marco might secretly love this kind of thing. Anytime something falls into the water - no matter how deep or cold - he’s the first to dive in and pick it out. Some might call it bravery; others, a well-developed habit. Either way, things always get fished out by him! Hopefully, some fish while we are crossing the Atlantic as well.

Anyway, our stop was sweet and short. We stayed for just a few hours, refueled the tank, grabbed a croissant de chocolat, and by 16:00 on Friday the first, we were back on our way with northern winds, hoisting the mainsail and gennaker as we set our course at 260° to exit the channel.

As we left the port of Cherbourg, we aimed to take a shortcut between the tip of La Hague (a town west of Cherbourg) and the island of Alderney, which lies northwest of La Hague. But, as you can see in the image below, this plan quickly fell apart.

Even though we had northern and northeastern winds giving us 8.5 knots under the gennaker, we couldn’t stop drifting with a current of almost 6 knots pushing us in the opposite direction. It didn’t take long to realize that trying to squeeze through the Channel Islands wasn’t going to work. So, we gave up on the shortcut and went with the longer but less frustrating route.

This time, it was going to be a longer leg of sailing anyway as we finally made our way into the Bay of Biscay, so not doing the shortest way in the channel didn't really matter at this point. Our next stop wouldn’t be for another four days, where we would end up grabbing a quick espresso at a small fishing harbour in Cape Finisterre, in the northern part of Spain.

The Bay of Biscay is well-known among sailors for its rough seas and occasional strong squalls and gales. For those unfamiliar with the terminologies, squalls are, according to the Encyclopaedia of Britannica, sudden wind-speed increases of 18 miles per hour or more that happen within seconds and last for minutes. They are often accompanied by other weather phenomena like rain, thunder, gusts, and hail.

Gales, on the other hand, are strong winds ranging from 28 to 55 knots, responsible for causing heavy seas in the area. In the Bay of Biscay, gales can be so severe that they sometimes exceed 70 miles per hour, making these waters unpredictable and dangerous for inexperienced sailors. Sailing here requires a combination of constant vigilance and the ability to take quick actions, such as immediate sail reefing when conditions demand it.

Well, it seems I’ve set the stage for quite a dramatic climax with all that talk about the heavy weather phenomena in the Bay of Biscay. Ready for the anticlimax? None of those phenomena occurred during our time in the bay. Quite the opposite, actually!

We enjoyed steady eastern winds on the first day and south-eastern winds in the days that followed, with wind speeds ranging between 3 and 5 Beaufort. It was smooth sailing all the way, with our mainsail and genoa III fully rolled out!

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We even discovered a little stowaway hiding in our avocado stash! No one could say for sure if it joined us for the great company or just wanted a free ride to Spain. Either way, the cheeky starling had to be escorted out of the interior, before it would start leaving ‘landmines’ everywhere. It's like those guests who come over for dinner, but don't know when to leave or how to clean up after themselves.

The starling wasn’t our only surprise guest. A whole pod of dolphins - bigger than the ones you’d find in the Mediterranean - decided to join the party. They swam alongside us for hours, amazing us and putting on a show with their synchronized water dances. Honestly, it felt like they were auditioning for Dolphins Got Talent!

I’m not entirely sure if one animal attracted the other or if the vibrations we were sending out were just that positive, but a whale showed up as well, creating a bit of a confetti atmosphere with its spouting blowhole. Apparently, even a lonely bat flew in for a while under the shade of our sail, probably having escaped a container ship and looking for a new way to get back to shore.

With a starling, a pod of dolphins, a whale, and even a bat hitching a ride, we couldn’t help but feel like we’d unknowingly started our own floating wildlife sanctuary. At this point, we might need to start charging for entry or handing out boarding passes!

But trust me, these won’t be the last unexpected blind passengers we have on board!

I won’t spill all the tea just yet - stay tuned as we head towards Porto Santo and get ready for the next chapter of our adventures!