Ian Clayton

A trip to Yarmouth with the famalam! We could have done without the easterly wind and the lumpy sea conditions, but thankfully they all traveled well and even had a snooze before we reached Hurst. Very slow going. Motor-sailed all the way (the wind was straight on the nose). Rafted alongside another yacht on Yellow Pontoon. Max F5.

Wow! What a trip! The three of us; Ian. Andrew & Chris made it from Southern Brittany across the Bay of Biscay, making landfall in A Coruna in Galicia. It wasn’t all plain sailing, in particular on our first night we sailed straight into the thunderstorms that ended up hitting Poole on Saturday afternoon - we had massive lightning bolts hitting the sea in front of us, and spectacular bolts running through the clouds, so we turned west…… we had more in front of us so we headed north, then they started getting closer and we headed back across our original track and the wind gusted up to a Force 7 out of the blue. Finally we could see a gap between the thunderstorm cells on the radar so we snuck through it and came through unscathed! Other than that it was mostly plain sailing; the new Code Zero sail came out to play a few times and having the Starlink on board was amazing in terms of getting up to date weather forecasts. As we neared the Spanish coast we negotiated a sprawl of Spanish fishing boats and also switched the depth sounder off in order to try not to attract the orca (that delight in attacking yacht rudders), steering by hand for the last 10 hours as another mitigation measure, then to be thrown the fog, for which Galicia is renowned, for the last 3 hours or so…..All whilst getting used to the sleep deprivation of working to a watch system in a relatively confined space. Good job we all get on well together! Very happy to be here, looking forward to a solid night’s sleep, but not until after a few beers have been dealt with!

Lovely day, light winds so motoring all the way, with a little assistance from the mainsail and fresh out of the box “Code Zero”. Left rather later than we probably should, to catch the favourable tide through the renowned Chenal du Four inside the isle of Ouessant but ended up not being in the slightest bit scary even against the tide, as we reached the southern end of the Chanel. Struck out for the 20 miles across the Cote d’Iroise heading for the equally notorious Raz de Sein and decided to push on, based on how benign the CdF had been, eventually ploughing straight through against 3 kts of tide. Felt not much different to an extended passage through the Hurst Narrows heading into the Solent from Poole Bay. Had a few dolphin sightings; always raises the excitement levels, including a solitary and much larger bottlenose dolphin which played in our bow wave for a while, shortly before we were buzzed, at very low level, by the French Navy. Plenty of spectacular lighthouses along the way. Finally put into the small fishing port of Audierne for the night, rafted up alongside a French yacht and in amongst the local fishing fleet.

When we could all really do with some sleep after the long overnighter before, decided to head out and cut 30 miles off our journey around to the fearsome Chenal du Four at the very NW tip of France. Motorsailed all the way as there was no wind to speak off, punching the tide to start with and then gradually accelerating as the tide turned in our favour. Chose the safest channel into the estuary, just as the sun was setting, giving some beautiful sights that we could barely take in as we tried to prevent the strong cross tides dragging us into the rocks and shallows - quite a challenge.

Overnighter from Dartmouth to Roscoff - first night passage for both Andrew and the skipper! Headed out from Dartmouth in drizzle but it soon cleared as a front came through and the wind settled in the west; perfect for our passage to Roscoff. Sailed with a reef in the main for comfort in a Force 5 and had a lovely sail under an orange moon until it set around 4 am. Even had a few dolphins playing alongside in the moonlight. Lots of big traffic to dodge entering/ exiting the Channel separation scheme - all managed without any problems - phew! Back in Roscoff for the first time since last Summer to check in to Schengen with Customs, then a stroll into town for a spot of lunch before heading back to the boat ready to head straight off again. Shame not to stay longer.

After maybe 3 years in the planning, finally set off towards the Caribbean on Breeze. Three person crew for the stage one; delivery trip to A Coruna in NW Spain. Not a breath of wind all the way from Poole until maybe 3 hours from Dartmouth so the engine saw plenty of use. Flat calm going round Portland Bill, though we could see the dreaded race closer in to land. From halfway across Lyme Bay we had multiple small pods of dolphins nearby but only once coming close in to the boat. Looked like they were feeding on small fish as they were mostly accompanied by gannets and gulls. Saw a couple of tuna breaking the surface too, a first for us in UK waters. Motored up into Dartmouth and came alongside a mid-river pontoon for the night, just short of the Upper Ferry. A pleasant start to the ARC+ delivery trip down to Las Palmas in Grand Canaria.

A fun day out on Amazira. Shame there wasn’t a breath of wind to start - we were sailing backwards towards the first mark at one stage. Came third in class…… of three.

Cracking conditions to have a play with the new Crusader Sails “Super Zero”. Excellent early indications of its potential.

Newly rebuilt rudders installed and off we go. Delivery trip in beautiful sunny conditions but heading into the wind and tide all the way. Thanks to Ian for his crewing expertise!

Early morning delivery trip to Desty’s at Hamble Point Marina. Motored all the way, with a refuel stop in Yarmouth.