Crossing the Bay of Biscay

All too soon, the time came for us to leave Jersey and continue our adventures.

The plan was to head west from Jersey and sail along the northern coast of France. Then turn south past Ouessant, and cross the Bay of Biscay to A Coruna, Spain. All of this non stop!

This would be our longest passage to date: Almost 480 miles taking anywhere between 4 to 6 days, depending on the wind. More importantly for us, it would require us to do at least 4 overnights…plenty of shift practice!

As this was a long passage with no chance of stopping anywhere, we needed to get the boat prepared to go. We carried out boat checks, including a trip up the mast to check the rigging.

We made several trips to the market and supermarket to provision and, finally, filled up with diesel. With a sailing boat, we always hope to sail most of the time, but it is important to have diesel for when needed. Escapade’s tanks carry 500 litres which should be enough for over 150 hours motoring. We decided to fill up in Jersey as it’s very cheap!!

Bargain

Leaving Jersey

Setting off from Jersey and heading west along the south coast, the wind was northerly at Force 3 (7-10 knots). A perfect angle for sailing with the main and Genoa. We also had the tidal flow with us and reached speeds of up to 7.5 knots. It was a beautiful start to the journey.

These conditions continued for several hours and we made good progress along the northern coast of France. By 9pm, we had turned slightly and the wind was now directly behind us. Also the flow was against us. This called for a change in sail plan, especially as night was approaching.

Sailing with main, poled out Genoa and staysail to help counter the effects of the rolling in the swell, our speed had dropped right down to 2/3 knots. A slow sail for the night and the following day.

By 6pm on Sunday, we had passed Ouessant, avoiding traffic and rocks, and reached the infamous Bay of Biscay. It was time to leave land behind us and set off across the bay. There was no turning back now. We watched the coast of France disappear behind us and before we knew it, there was nothing to see apart from the sea.

The weather continued to be kind and we sailed through out the night and the following day. The hours merged together and we kept chipping away at the miles. The sun shone in a bright blue sky and there was only a slight swell gently rocking the boat.

Our entertainment for the day was a visit from a huge pod of dolphins. They arrived from all directions to swim alongside and play in the bow waves. At one point there must have been about thirty! They stayed with us for about 30 minutes before disappearing as quickly as they had arrived. We tried to film them, but they are too quick.

Watch out for rocks!

A beautiful day for a sail

By Monday night, the wind and dropped completely and we were having to motor. We motored all night and into Tuesday. By the time we reached the centre of the Bay, the sea was flat calm and we even managed a civilised lunch without food and crockery sliding around.

At 4.30pm a bank of fog moved in seriously reducing the visibility. It was very strange to lose sight of the horizon and we were glad that we had the radar to keep track of any boats in the area. Strangely, the mist only lasted for about 30 minutes and we were back to blue skies and sunshine.

By 7pm, the wind had picked up to Force 3 and we were able to get the sails out again. Using the main and Genoa we sailed throughout the night at speeds of 6 knots.

Half way across

What no wind?

Civilised lunch in the Bay

By Wednesday morning, we were excited to see the coast of Spain. After so much motoring, it was good to make the most of the wind and we decided to finish our journey by tacking along the coast to A Coruna. This took longer than a straight line, but it was a much nicer end to our journey.

We finally approached A Coruna at 7pm. We knew that it would be too late in the day for marina staff to be there, so instead we anchored a couple of miles away across the bay in Ensenada de Mera. It was a tranquil evening at anchor, hopefully the first many in Spain.

We watched the sun set over the bay and celebrated the end of our passage: Jersey to A Coruna 477nm and 5 days and 6 hours. The Bay had been kind to us!

Approaching A Coruna at last

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