Leaving Sabbaticus

Entering Fox's Marina

After six weeks at Fox's Marina we are now ready to depart Sabbaticus for the final time. Sabbaticus is now for sale and is gleaming from all the TLC over the last few weeks. The 'Sale Prep' list of 52 tasks is completed, 3 cubic meters personal/boat effects packed ready for shipping to NZ and our bags packed for a holiday to Prague before heading home.

Our berth is a short walk from the dock to the yacht club facilities and is adjacent to the travel lift ensuring there is plenty to watch as boats of all sizes are lifted out of the water. The 70 tonne hoist is able to handle boats up to 80ft in length and is used daily. We always enjoy watching the Wind Farm Cat's being lifted and the tight maneuvering required to get into the travel lift with literally inches to spare.

Life is never dull in the marina as there is always something to see or people to talk with. The yacht club has been social with several BBQs held with band's playing which has been good to join in. We have enjoyed catching up with friends, including Martin & Caron who we first met at anchorage in Turkey. Fast forward 12mths and Martin and Caron are at Fox's having purchased their Oyster so we enjoyed a celebratory dinner with them. The only negative about the marina is the local bird population which seems to have Sabbaticus in their target as we get daily 'deposits' including exploded berries that make a mess on the teak and require bleaching to remove the stains. Unfortunately we also had a swan crash land on deck after hitting the rigging on the boat next door. Thankfully Steve saw it happen and came aboard to alert us so the rescue could begin. The swan appeared disorientated (not surprisingly) and was struggling to move off the deck. After calming the swan Steve carried her off Sabbaticus where she waited for animal rescue services. It was out with the hose again to clean the decks after this crash landing.

We enjoyed a day trip to Cambridge University which was better than expected with the beautiful buildings, parks, canals and (not surprisingly) is packed with history. Cambridge was founded in 1209 and is the second-oldest University in the English-speaking world, is the wealthiest Uni in the UK  and comprises 31 colleges including three women only ones. The oldest publishing house in the world is the Cambridge University Press. Interestingly Cambridge's libraries hold around 15 million books and as a legal deposit library is entitled to request a free copy of every book published in the UK and Ireland - just some of the facts learned during our walking tour.  

 














As this is our last Sabbaticus travel blog we thought a summary of our sailing log was required - if only to remind of us when we are back at work of the adventures. Our first sail was on 30 July 2014 and since then we have visited Belgium, Guernsey, France, Spain, Balearic Islands, Portugal, Gibraltar, Sardinia, Sicily, Greece, Crete and Turkey. We left Ipswich sailing across the Med to Turkey returning to Ipswich in July 2016. We covered a total of 7,914NM; sailing for approximately 52% of this distance and motoring for a total of 760hrs. We depart Sabbaticus with great memories of our sailing travels and friends made along the way and have included a short video clip below from some of these memories. Kudos to John for skippering Sabbaticus safely and as the first mate (and at times the worst mate) more importantly I'm still the best mate who is ready to join the Skipper for phase two. It is now back to reality as we leave Sabbaticus to return to our Wellington home for a few years to plan the next sailing adventure. 

Kings College Cambridge University

Sabbaticus's final move into the Oyster brokerage yard

Falmouth to Ipswich

Having arrived in Falmouth earlier than planned we were able to enjoy a relaxing sail up the coast to Ipswich a mere 250Nm away. Falmouth is a scenic harbour to enter with Henry VIII's twin castles on the opposing headlands guarding the entrance against foreign invasion - dating from Tudor times. By this stage in our travels John had seen enough castles/forts to last a lifetime but Leanne couldn't resist a tour of Pendennis Castle (on the headland) and was rewarded with breathtaking 360 degree views. While we enjoyed our time exploring 'Fal' (as referred to by local's) from the marina, on a mooring buoy and then anchoring up Carrick Creek to enjoy walks in the countryside. The one surprise was being charged £6 a day to anchor - a local practice we hope is not contagious!

After five nights in Fal the forecast was looking favourable so it was an early morning departure to catch the outgoing tide as we headed to Salcombe. This was a great day's sail of 45NM albeit with full wet weather gear to keep warm - so much for summer sailing. Salcombe is a picturesque and popular resort town and cruising destination with a winter population of 2,000 growing to 25,000 during summer which made the narrow pedestrian streets somewhat crowded! 
The visitors mooring buoys were packed with yachts rafted up which made for a social time. We had the pleasure of being rafted alongside another Oyster 49 - Chita Vento. With only 15 49's built it was good to finally see a 'sister ship' with us being hosted for an enjoyable dinner onboard. We also enjoyed hospitality onboard Tilly Whim and the chance to see a much loved older and immaculately maintained, Oyster.
 
From Salcombe our next stop was Dartmouth. While the forecast was for wind (why else would we have left) once outside of the entrance the breeze died and we ended up motoring for 3hrs to reach Dartmouth.  We entered the Dart River on a gloomy day passing the Dartmouth Castle, built in 1488, and could only imagine what it would have been like when a chain was slung across the river mouth to protect the entrance. 

Dartmouth is another picturesque town and has been a thriving port since the 14th century. Not surprisingly Dartmouth is rich in history, with narrow winding streets, medieval architecture and quayside walks. In 1905 the Britannia Royal Naval College was established to train naval officers. This majestic building is set in a beautiful grounds overlooking the harbour/town. We enjoyed daily visits to the Royal Dart Yacht Club which was (as advertised) 'friendly and welcoming to visiting yachties'. The only downside to Dartmouth was mooring alongside a visitors pontoon and putting a long scratch on the hull when one of the visitor signs on the pontoon got snagged on our fender when coming alongside.

The next leg was our longest sail in the UK - 220NM or 36hrs and resulted in a great coastal sail up the channel to Ramsgate. This time our departure was a leisurely 1530hrs to catch the Dover tidal gate. Unfortunately we arrived at the white cliffs of Dover on dusk so didn't see a lot but were kept busy avoiding the Dover ferries. We were relieved to arrive in Ramsgate Marina after several hours of navigating our way through the numerous lights and challenging shallow waters just on low tide. The marina was full due to race week so we rafted up alongside a Dutch yacht for the next few days. Of note Ramsgate is the only Royal Harbour in the UK bestowed by King George IV in 1821. Ramsgate was one of the main embarkation harbour's during the Napoleonic Wars, was one of the first places in Britain to be bombed by the Germans, and during the 1940 Dunkirk Evacuation the town acted as the central port for the rescue of the troops from France. Another port that is rich in history with spectacular cliff top walks.  

Ramsgate was a quick two day stopover as the wind was favourable for our last leg of 60NM to Ipswich across the Thames Estuary. This would be our last early morning start at 0500hrs to enjoy a favourable tide and more importantly our last chance to sail on Sabbaticus. This was another excellent sail which kept us alert as we avoided the wind farms, shallow waters and navigation buoys requiring quite a few tacks to enter the River Orwell. After departing two years previously we arrived back at Fox's Marina which felt like we had come home receiving a warm welcome from team Fox.

Rafted up to Chita Vento in Salcombe

Royal Navy College Dartmouth

Royal National Life Boat in Salcombe

Gibraltar to Falmouth, UK

Carl joins Sabbaticus

After a long flight from NZ a friend Carl joined us in Gibraltar to sail up the Atlantic Coast. After a couple of days to acclimatize from the NZ winter, climb The Rock, and settle into Sabbaticus Carl was ready for departure. Fortunately we had a lucky break in the forecast with the Azores High providing a brief gap in the weather for us to head north in calm conditions. The previous 30 days of weather had been depressing to view as there was a constant 25-35kts of N/NE winds (on the nose) up the coast with big swells. This would have been uncomfortable for both crew and Sabbaticus requiring either large tacks of 300-400NM offshore or uncomfortable motoring head into the wind for extended periods. Although not ideal, motoring in relatively calm conditions was considered the lesser of two evils. However, before heading up the coast we had the Bay of Cadiz to cross. 

This is easy ...

Leaving Gibraltar on 2 Jul we initially had a great sail across to Tarifa Pt with gusts to 38kts providing Carl a good chance to see Sabbaticus in her groove and downwind sailing. Unfortunately the wind did not hold and despite a couple of hours with sails up/down we ended up motoring the next 43hrs (215NM) out of the 288NM passage to reach Cascais, Portugal. However, the conditions were ideal for motoring with flat seas and lots of sun. 

After a couple of nights in Cascais we then departed at 0300hrs. Ironically the early start was to ensure no headwind  which also meant departing in heavy fog with visibility reduced to 200-300mtrs around the boat. It was challenging leaving the marina with commercial vessels, fishing boats, channel markers, special marks and unlit fishing buoys to be avoided. Finally the fog cleared at 1300hrs with us then able to relax and resume listening to podcasts on watch to keep us entertained. During Leanne's watch a huge pod of dolphins visited and played for sometime off the bow waves. After a relatively short trip of 38hrs and 215NM we arrived in Bayona, Spain.

We enjoyed several days in Bayona, including walks around the fortress and tapas out at a popular bar before the forecast improved and it was time to depart for La Coruna. This passage was 114 NM and only one night at sea. Unfortunately we arrived in La Caruna at 0100hrs which we learned was rush hour as commercial fishing vessels exited the harbour. This approach was busy avoiding the fishing boats, staying in the channel and lining up the leading lights - providing Carl a good chance to practice his night navigation. After a brief stooge around the marina, we found a vacant berth and had a few welcome drinks onboard before retiring to bed at 0330hrs. Despite planning to stay a few days in La Coruna after seeing the

Carl finally gets the chance to helm in the Bay!

forecast the option was to leave soon or wait 10 days. After much deliberation during the day the decision was made to depart. It was 'action stations' for the next hour getting Sabbaticus ready and within 15hrs of arriving we were on our way to cross the Bay of Biscay with no time to get anxious about the crossing! This passage was 365NM with some excellent sailing conditions. The wind was just off the nose allowing us to sail close hauled the entire way reefed in 25kts with good boat speed making the crossing in about 50hrs! Great sailing at last!
 
Arriving late at night in Brest  we did not realise it was the 'Brest Festival of the Sea' week which is held every four years and meant the marina we had planned to enter was closed. At 2200hrs we motored down to the next marina to find the 1540 berths full and boats rafted up three abreast! Fortunately, after some negotiation with the staff and the usual 'lost in translation mistakes' we were directed to two similar sized boats we could raft up alongside for the night. The next morning the marina was like a zoo with boats moving around, sometimes raised voices and in typical French manner at full throttle. After checking the forecast and seeing no wind for a week or more we decided to leave and motor to the UK (24hrs). This was preferable to being rafted up in an overcrowded marina for an extended period.  

Departing Brest

Getting out of the marina was challenging with boats returning and not observing the rules of the road, necessitating John using the fog horn for the first time to loudly attract French Skipper's attention to make room in the depth constrained channel (believe it or not the regulations do not recommend proceeding down channels three or four abreast spanning the channel). Needless to say not all were impressed to see the Kiwi flagged yacht moving in the opposite direction on the correct side of the channel using a fog horn to make way! Notwithstanding the confusion, congestion and chaos this was a picturesque departure as we motored our way through the Bastille Day celebration fleet out of the harbour.  

Exploring Falmouth Creek's

Luxury - 6hrs off watch!

The crossing to Falmouth, UK was an easy 118NM with flat seas which we motored in 21hrs. After several days in Falmouth Carl then left us to return to NZ while we continue, now in cruising mode, to Ipswich. With Carl onboard our trip from Gib to Falmouth took 13 days, with 1102NM covered with 60% of the passage spent motoring. Having Carl with us allowed 3hr on watch and 6hrs off which gave us more rest between watch's and required less time between each stopover to recover. While we enjoy sailing with just the two of us, having Carl to stand a watch alone made us realise how valuable an experienced person can be and made it easier for us. We may need to rethink our strategy for the future - thanks Carl!
  

View from Marina in Bayona

The picturesque Falmouth Harbour

Sardinia to Gibraltar

After 11 days in Castelsardo it was good to get moving again as time was starting to slow down as we started to relax with no 'task list' to complete. With a favourable forecast we departed for the Balearic Islands. Despite the forecast for 48hrs of wind this two day trip of 230NM saw us motoring for almost half the passage which was frustrating but is typical of Med sailing.  

We dropped anchor in a lovely bay in the port of Mahon on Menorca Island. Mahon is the capital city of Menorca which is built around a beautiful (long) natural harbour with the town built along the clifftops. The military importance of Mahon harbour resulted in the island being fought over by the British, French and Spanish powers as it could protect large fleets in their entirety with the British occupying the island from 1713-1755. The anchorage was about a 10min ride in the RIB which was good way to sightsee around the harbour on our numerous trips into Mahon. As always being at anchor was a social time as we enjoyed meeting sailors from the UK, Canada and Netherlands.

John increasing the gap at La Mola

The anchorage was directly under the impressive La Mola Fortress which covers a vast area (1 sqkm) and was built in 1852. We enjoyed wandering through the fortress which is regarded today as a Spanish masterpiece of military architecture.  Unfortunately the huge technical advances in gun design made the fortress obsolete within 20 yrs as a series of coastal batteries replace the fortress. We made the most of clear water, with daily swims and John diving the boat to clean the hull. The hull dive resulted in another task - replacing a loose anode on the propeller shaft.

 Although we were needed to keep going to get back to the UK this season, it was bittersweet to pull the

Rounding Europa Point into Gibraltar

anchor after 7 days and know we were leaving the Med behind us. The passage to Gibraltar was our longest yet 550NM and four nights at sea, the bonus of this trip was a full moon allowing the night watch's to have significant increase in visibility. While we had good speed for this trip we still ended up motoring 50% of the way - this part of 'Med sailing' we will not miss! We had a short divert into Cartagena for fuel then continued on. While on watch at 0300hrs Leanne was surprised to hear Sabbaticus being hailed. This was the local authorities advising to watch out for 'a rubber boat with immigrants in front of you' this quickly broke the monotony of keeping 'eyes out of the boat', thankfully we never spotted any boats.

We sailed past Europa Point in Gibraltar at 0530hrs and headed straight for the fuel dock. Filling the tanks with 600L at .34p/L made a welcome change to the budget! Coming back to Queensway Marina felt like coming home, given we had spent three months here for winter in 2014. Our celebratory dinner on arrival was a huge steak meal and then a couple of nights later local fish and chips. We have enjoyed various conversations with the locals on the BREXIT vote - given 96% of Gibraltarian's voted to stay in the EU it was a black day when the vote was announced. With no breakages to fix (although a head pump was replaced) the Gib stopover has been relaxing while we passage plan the trip up the Atlantic coast.

Queensway Marina - an easy place for a stopover

Hiking up The Rock and trying to avoid the 'Rock Apes'

   

Bonifacio, Corsica

After three days at anchor in strong winds finally the weather improved and we had an enjoyable sail to the island of Lavessi, about 6NM off the coast of Corsica. Lavezzi is a maze of rocks, reefs and shoal water. We 'got lucky' on our way in to the bay as we narrowly missed a large rock that was just below the surface and not shown on our charts. This could have prematurely ended our summer sailing! Lavezzi was a picturesque anchorage and included a church and a memorial to the French frigate La Semillante on its way to the Crimean War in 1855 and was shipwrecked off Lavezzi with all 773 people on board drowned. 

Customs departing

Just as we sat down to enjoy sun-downer's we watched a French Customs boat cruise past and then stop outside the bay. When we saw their RIB being lowered as the only non-EU flagged boat in the bay it was likely we were getting visitors! Ironic we have been in Sicily and Sardinia and never been boarded and within 3 hrs of arriving in French Territory a four man team of Customs Officers are onboard Sabbaticus. With nothing to declare, it was a short 40min visit to complete their paperwork before they departed and we could enjoy the sunset.
 

The next morning, hearing the boat 'next door' moving at 0600hrs due to their anchor dragging meant we were up as well. With the wind filling in we decided to get moving and sail the short distance (1 hr) up the coast to Bonifacio. Bonifacio has to be one of the most spectacular places we have visited so far. The chalk-white limestone cliffs, sculpted by the ocean are stunning to see off the coast with houses perched along the clifftops. Entering Bonifacio is via a ravine that has a fjord-like appearance that is 1,500mtrs long and 200 mtrs wide. Fortifications extend along the cliff-tops from the entrance to the site of the citadel - a natural defensive position with cliffs on all sides. The fortress was built by Count Bonfiacio in 828 with the aim to build 'an unassailable fortress and naval base' which was achieved in spite of various attacks/sieges over the centuries.

Arriving early we decided to fuel up on the way into the marina as the fuel berth was empty. While re-fueling a local fisherman pulled in alongside and proceeded to gut his morning catch and feed the seagulls creating much noise as they fought over the scraps. Safely berthed in the marina and giving Sabbaticus a quick wash down, the boat across the pier was raising their geona sail - which seemed an accident waiting to happen with the winds building. Sure enough, Leanne was on the swim platform when she heard a loud bang and saw a cleat landing on the deck which had sheared off the boat three berths down! Thankfully neither of us were in range as this would have caused some damage being hit by a flying metal object.  After this we decided it was safer to leave Sabbaticus and explore!

This was a chance to stretch the legs and head up the hill to the old city, stroll around the medieval city, along the fortress walls and imagine what life would have been liked centuries ago. We visited the marine cemetery which was huge with crypts build like small houses for each family with generations interned and found it quite peaceful to walk around. This cemetery is known as being one of the most beautiful in the Med. Back on board we were then entertained with a couple of super yachts arriving and berthing just off our bow. Never a dull day and always something to watch (or watch out for) when living onboard. 

We departed the next day and had an enjoyable day's sail to Castelsardo in Sardinia. Castelsardo is an old fishing village, not too touristy, with steep winding roads up to the castle at the summit - a relaxing place to wait for wind.  With over 7 days at Castelsardo we are now feeling like local's in the marina as each day new yachts arrive in. We frequently feel like frauds as inevitably we get asked 'did you sail from NZ' - we are too honest to lie! We have made good use of the downtime and used the RIB to get around the boat to polish the hull and even had time to do the topsides - Sabbaticus is now gleaming. While we are reluctant to leave Sardinia we need to keep moving. Our next planned passage is two days sailing to reach the Balearic Islands.


 

View of Castelsardo from the marina

View from Bonifacio marina to the old city/fort

Marine Cemetery - a peaceful place to rest