How long is a piece of string?

Too long is my answer. When the skipper asked me to 'sort out' and rewind a hank of special cord he had purchased at a knock-down price at the London Boat Show earlier this year, I replied "Yes of course, no problem". But that was before I saw the extent of the task.

Actually Skipper, there is a big problem. Especially as I immediately found TWO ends and both started pulling from the middle! What's more, the original bag contains two more tangled hanks!

Afraid these may all have to be brought home to be sorted out in front of the fire on a cold winter's night ...

This afternoon Follyfin was lifted out of the water - 'tirer de l'eau' and then 'mise á terre' in French - so now we are back on terra firma, although still getting the sensation of moving as if afloat. We now have 2 days in which to complete the winterising process, much of which has already been accomplished whilst afloat in the river and riding out the strong winds and rain of recent days. The fore cabin bears witness to our winterising so far ...

First job now we are on the ground is to pressure wash the under-surface of the hull - the bit that has been in the water until now - and the Skipper is doing this as I type this post.

And as you can see below, he's rather enjoying himself ... Intent on removing all the salt and fresh water weedy bits that like to cling to the hulls of all boats, not just ours.

If, dear reader, you are like me and have not come across pressure washers before, it is that yellow thing in the photo. It requires electricity and water in close proximity - a dangerous combination some might think, but it does seem to work. And I should mention here that this one was kindly donated to us by our good neighbour and friend Dave, who has upgraded to a more sophisticated model to use on cars rather than boats. Thanks Dave!

Now hoping for a fine day tomorrow to do some more, yes you've guessed it, WINTERISING!

Last of the Summer Fine

Arrived at Foleux on the Vilaine river this afternoon. For those of you who have been on board Follyfin whilst cruising this beautiful river, this little place is 4 miles up-river from LRB (more formally known as La Roche Bernard, named after the Viking Lord Bern-Hart who founded the town around 1000 AD, and sporting a massive rock with a cannon on top on the edge of the town). After a long period of very settled weather at the centre of a high pressure system, the weather has now changed as a warm front closely followed by a cold front passed over us today, accompanied by strong wind and heavy rain. But as I write this in the evening, the air has cleared and all is calm on the river again.

Next to us there is a sleek-looking yacht flying the Japanese ensign. As a Japanese registered sailing vessel, it is probably unique on this stretch of coastline! The middle-aged couple on board has taken 6 years to get here, leaving their yacht every 6 months on the way to fly home to Japan. They have crossed oceans and are fully equipped for long periods off-shore, so we are taking notes for anticipated future voyages of Follyfin.

My last post was written from Port Tudy on the Île de Groix, a small island only 4 miles long by 1.5 miles wide, about the same size as Alderney in the Channel Islands which we visited in 2011 on our maiden 'cruise' in Follyfin. We took a walk on a sunny afternoon, taking in a visit to Les Grands Sablons - a long sandy convex beach, almost totally deserted except for a few fishermen.

This place was so perfect and tranquil, and the weather so settled, that the next night we decided to anchor close off the beach, where we were rewarded with a wonderful sunset.

By Wednesday our thoughts were turning to home. So with very light winds forecast the next day, we turned back south east and were able to fly our Gennaker once again, probably for the last time this season. Over a distance of about 20 miles we achieved an average speed of just under 5 knots with this sail alone in a south-westerly wind force 2-3, the wind just abaft the beam (I love that phrase!) and the sail still well filled. It has been a learning curve with this sail, which is likely to continue.

Yesterday, Friday, we made an early start in order to catch the 2 o'clock opening of the barrage lock into the Vilaine. This time we were rewarded with a wonderful sunrise.

Once inside the river and safely moored onto a wide pontoon, it was all hands on deck to remove the sails ready for winter whilst they were still dry. We knew rain was on the way and so it has proved to be. Are we smug? Yes indeed! The next few days will be taken up with gradually removing all the rigging and bits and bobs on deck, servicing the engine, generally cleaning and attending to all those little jobs that have been put on hold whilst enjoying sailing. But there will also be a little time to enjoy the Vilaine river hereabouts; after all we still have an engine! Follyfin will be lifted out of the water on Thursday 9 October after which we really will be heading for home after the weekend, car piled up to the nines. Hey ho, the ceaseless round continues.